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When  they  found  that  the  King  was  addressing  them,  Robin 
Hood  and  his  men  fell  on  their  knees  before  him. 


\r, 


The  Story  of 


ROBIN  HO 


Popular  Edition 


Profusely  Illustrated 


Chicago 
M.  A.  Donohue  &  Co. 


A 


J 

M 

1 


PRINTED 


BO 


M.  A.  Donohue  &  Company 

CHICAGO 


und  r 
IY 

f 


Made  in  U.  S.  A. 


ROBIN  HOOD  lived 
about  seven  hundred  years 
ago,  in  England,  when 
Richard  the  First  was  King. 
At  that  time  a  large  part  of 
the  land  was  covered  with 
great  forests,  in  which  deer, 
wild  boar  and  other  game  ran  wild;  and 
it  was  near  the  borders  of  one  of  these, 
called  Sherwood  Forest,  that  Robin 
Hood  was  born. 

From  his  earliest  years  he  had  a 
great  love  for  all  the  manly  out-door 
sports  and  games,  and  he  became  very 
expert  at  them;  above  all,  in  the  use  of 
the  bow  and  arrow.    He  grew  so  skillful 

\mm 


P^O  *B  I  J4        HOOT* 

in  this  that  there  was  no  archer  in  all  the 
country  round  who  could  compare  with 
him,  and  he  always  carried  off  the 
prizes  at  the  shooting  matches.  Besides 
this,  he  had  bright  wits,  and  a  merry 
heart;  loved  a  song  and  a  jest;  and 
was  liked  by  nearly  everybody  who 
knew  him. 

But  something  took  place  which 
drove  him  into  a  way  of  life  that, 
otherwise,  he  might  not  have  chosen 
for  himself.  In  those  days  all  the  game 
in  the  forest  belonged  to  the  King;  it 
was  against  the  law  to  shoot  it.  The 
King  had  men  in  the  forest,  called  for- 
esters, to  catch  those  who  did  so  and 
have  them  punished.  One  day,  as 
Robin  Hood  was  passing  through  the 
forest,  he  met  with  a  party  of  these 
foresters.  One  of  them  was  a  man  who 
had  a  great  name  as  an  archer  and  was 

—  8- 


B^O  *B  I  Jf        H  O  O  2> 


Robin  Hood  became  a  Great  Marksman. 


—  9— 


P^O  3  I  JV        HOOD 

—  _         "         ■!■!■. i        i  ■'    ■  ■         i  ■■— ■         ■ ■■■      .  ■— —      i— j=ai 

jealous  of  Robin  Hood's  growing  fame. 
He  began  to  taunt  Robin,  and  at  last 
dared  him  to  show  his  skill  by  shoot- 
ing a  deer  which  came  in  sight  at  a 
great  distance.  Robin  Hood's  temper 
was  up;  and  without  thinking,  he  put 
an  arrow  in  his  bow  and  let  it  fly  at 
the  deer,  which  it  struck  and  killed. 
The  forester  only  became  more  angry 
at  this  feat,  which  was  one  he  could 
not  do  himself,  so  he  said  he  would 
take  Robin  and  have  him  hung  for  kill- 
ing the  King's  deer.  Robin  started  to 
fly,  but  the  foresters  pursued  him  so 
closely  that  he  saw  no  chance  of  escap- 
ing, so  he  turned  and  again  drawing 
his  bow,  sent  an  arrow  into  the  heart 
of  the  man  who  had  begun  the  quarrel. 
He  dropped  dead,  while  his  comrades 
stood  still,  not  knowing  but  that  they 
might   be    served    as    badly,    so    Robin 


—  10  — 


P^O  *B  I  ff        H  O  O  7> 

Hood  escaped.  But  as  there  would 
now  be  no  mercy  shown  to  him  if  any 
of  the  King's  men  laid  hands  upon  him, 
he  became  an  outlaw,  that  is,  he  lived 
in  the  forest,  and  got  his  food  by 
shooting  the  deer  and  other  game,  try- 
ing of  course  not  to  come  in  the  way 
of  the  foresters.  Now  there  were  many 
other  young  men  who,  from  one  cause 
and  another  had  taken  to  this  kind  of 
life,  and  Robin  Hood  soon  gathered 
them  into  a  band  of  which  he  was 
made  captain,  and  which  became  so 
strong  that  in  the  end  they  were  more 
of  a  terror  to  the  foresters  than  the 
foresters  to  them.  They  wore  a  uni- 
form of  Lincoln  green,  with  scarlet 
caps;  and  besides  his  bow  and  arrows, 
each  man  had  a  short  sword;  while  the 
captain  carried  a  bugle-horn  with  which 

to  call  his  men  when  he  needed  them. 

-a— 


Robin  Hood's  struggle  with 
Little  John. 


-tt— 


P^O  B  I  JV        HOOT) 

i  

They  led  a  pleasant  life  in  the  green- 
wood, but  it  was  an  entirely  unlawful 
one,  for  besides  shooting  the  game, 
they  used  to  rob  rich  people  who  passed 
through  the  forest.  But  Robin  Hood, 
though  a  robber,  was  in  many  ways  so 
good  that  he  was  thought  well  of  by 
most  people;  for  he  would  not  take 
from  those  who  were  poor — instead,  he 
often  gave  them  help.  He  would  kiot 
let  his  men  hurt  or  rob  a  woman,  and 
when  the  weak  were  wronged  he  took 
their  part. 

He  gave  a  proof  of  this  one  day 
when  he  stopped  a  knight  named  Sir 
Richard  of  the  Lea,  who  was  passing 
with  two  followers,  through  the  forest. 
Robin  saw  that  the  knight  wore  a  very  \ 
sad  face,  and  he  asked  why  this  was  so. 
The  knight  replied  that  he  had  met 
with   losses,    and    had    been    forced    to 

-13— 


I 


P^O  KIT*        HOOD 

mortgage  his  lands  to  the  Abbot  of  St. 
Mary's  of  York,  who,  if  the  money 
were  not  paid  next  day,  would  seize  all 
he  had.  Robin  Hood  was  touched  by 
the  sadness  of  the  knight,  and  agreed  to 
lend  him  the  sum  needed  to  redeem  his 
lands.  The  knight  departed  in  great 
joy,  and  this  kind  deed  was  told  far 
and  wide,  greatly  to  the  credit  of 
Robin   Hood. 

Robin  Hood's  dearest  friend,  and 
the  next  in  command  to  himself,  was 
called  Little  John.  The  way  in  which 
they  came  together  was  this.  Robin 
liked  to  roam  the  forest  by  himself  in 
search  of  adventures;  and  one  day,  as 
he  was  passing  thus  along  a  forest  path, 
he  came  to  a  brook  over  which  a  nar- 
row plank  was  laid.  Here,  in  the  center 
of  the  plank,  he  met  Little  John;  it  be- 
came a  question  as  to  which  should  go 


P^O  B  /  JV        H  O  O  2> 

back.  "Let  me  pass,"  said  the  stranger, 
"or  it  will  be  the  worse  for  thee." 

Robin  laughed  at  the  idea  of  any 
one  trying  to  scare  him  by  threats,  and 
told  the  stranger  to  go  back  or  he 
would  put  an  arrow  through  him. 

"Then,"  said  the  other,  "thou  art  a 
coward,  for  none  other  would  offer  to 
use  a  bow  and  arrows  against  a  man 
armed  only  with  a  quarter  staff." 

Now  Robin  Hood  was  anything  but 
a  coward,  and  cculd  not  bear  to  do 
that  which  would  give  anybody  a  right 
to  call  him  one;  so  he  stepped  aside  and 
cut  for  himself  a  staff  of  oak. 

"Now,"  said  he,  "we  are  equal,  we 
will  fight  it  out,  and  whichever  knocks 
the  other  into  the  water  shall  be  victor." 

The  stranger  was  seven  feet  tall, 
and  though  Robin  Hood  was  expert  in 
the  use  of  the  staff,  he  found  him  more 

—  13  — 


P^O  3  I  A        HOOD 

than  a  match.  After  they  had  thumped 
each  other  well  for  a  while,  the  stranger 
at  last  hit  Robin  a  blow  which  sent 
him  into  the  brook.  He  waded  to  the 
bank  while  the  stranger  stood  and 
laughed  at  him.  Then  Robin  Hood 
sounded  his  horn,  and  his  men  came 
running  from  all  sides.  When  he  told 
them  how  he  had  been  served  they 
wished  to  give  the  stranger  a  taste 
of  the  water  too,  but  Robin,  who  was 
very  much  pleased  with  his  strength 
and  skill,  stopped  them,  and  asked  the 
stranger  if  he  would  not  be  one  of  his 
merry-men. 

"Most  willingly,"  cried  he,  "and 
though  my  name  is  John  Little,  I  hope 
you  will  find  that  I  can  do  great  things!" 

The  merry-men  laughed  when  they 
heard  the  big  stranger's  name;  and  one 
of  them  said  that  it  should  be  changed 

-16  — 


F^O  *B  I  JV        HO  O  2> 


from  John  Little  to  Little  John,  which 
was  done,  and  he  was  ever  after  called 
that   way. 

Another  time,  as 
Robin  Hood  was 
walking  through  the 
greenwood,  he  found 
a  fat  friar  sitting  near 
a  brook,  and  thought 
he  would  have  some 
sport  with  him,  so 
he  said: 

"Carry  me  over 
the  brook,  fat  friar, 
or  I  will  beat  thee  till  thou  art  sore." 

The  friar,  without  a  word,  tucked 
up  his  gown  and  carried  him  over,  but 
as  Robin  started  off,  he  cried: — "Stop, 
my  fine  fellow,  and  carry  me  back  or 
it  will  cause  thee  sorrow."  Robin  took 
the  friar  on  his  back,   and  carried   him 


—  17 


B^O  *B  I  JV        HOOT) 

over,  and  set  him  down,  saying:— "Now, 
take  me  over  once  more,  fat  friar.  As 
thou  art  twice  my  weight,  it  is  right  I 
should  have  two  rides  to  thy  one." 

The  friar  again  took  him  on  his  back, 
but  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  he  threw 
him  in  the  water,  saying:  "Now,  my 
pretty  youth,  let  us  see  if  thou  canst 
swim." 

Then  he  went  laughing  on  his  way. 
But  Robin  was  angry,  and  ran  after  him, 
and  attacked  him  with  his  staff.  The  friar 
defended  himself,  and  they  fought  for  a 
long  time  without  either  getting  the  best 
of  it.  Finally,  when  both  were  tired  out, 
Robin  Hood  told  the  friar  who  he  was, 
and  asked  him  if  he  would  not  like  to  join 
his  band  and  be  their  chaplain.  The  friar 
was  a  jolly  fellow,  and  was  quite  willing 
to  take  Robin's  offer.  So  he  became  one 
of  the  merry -men,  and  was  almost  as 


—  18 


The  Friar  dropped  Robin  into  the  middle  of  the  stream. 

-19  — 


/COS  I  ff        HOOD 

famous  as  Robin  Hood  himself,   being 
known  as  Friar  Tuck. 

Robin,  before  he  became  an  outlaw, 
had  been  in  love  with  a  young  maiden 
named  Marian,  but  he  had  not  seen  her 
since.  Her  love  for  him  did  not  die  out, 
however;  and  finally  her  longing  to  see 
him  became  so  great  tha*  she  put  on 
boy's  clothes,  and  went  to  seek  him  in 
the  forest.  She  met  him  at  last;  but  he 
did  not  know  her  in  her  strange  dress, 
and  she  would  not,  at  first,  tell  him  who 
she  was,  but  drew  her  sword  and  dared 
him  to  fight.  He,  of  course,  soon  over- 
came her;  so  she  took  off  her  cap,  and 
let  her  beautiful  hair  fall  over  her  shoul- 
ders, and  then  Robin  Hood  knew  her. 
He  still  loved  her  as  much  as  ever,  and 
they  were  soon  married  by  Friar  Tuck, 
the  merry-men  celebrating  their  wedding 
with  great  festivity. 


F^O  B  /  JV        HOOD 


tssrssam 


Maid  Marian  longs  to  see  Robin  Hood 

again,  so  putting  on  boys'  clothes, 

finds  him  in  the  forest. 


-a— 


F^O  B  I  Jf        H  O  O  -D 

mm p— T»  i -.,,-,  -t— i^— — »— gBJ  i.  —  i  i         —    ■■■.—      |  ^TwieBiiii    umi.iii'   wi ■mt-i'iii. i  ■■ 

It  was  the  way  of  the  outlaws  when 
they  caught  travelers  who  seemed  likely 
to  have  much  gold  or  silver  about  them 
to  take  them  to  dine  with  Robin  Hood. 
After  they  had  been  feasted  he  would 
see  how  much  they  had,  and  would 
make  them  pay  for  their  entertainment 
according  to  their  means.  One  day  they 
brought  before  him  a  rich  Abbot,  the 
same  who  had  been  so  harsh  with  Sir 
Richard  of  the  Lea.  Robin  Hood  re- 
solved that  besides  taking  his  gold,  he 
would  put  him  to  shame,  so  after  they 
had  stripped  him  of  all  his  money,  they 
tied  him  upon  a  mule's  back,  with  his 
face  to  the  tail,  and  in  that  ridiculous 
posture  sent  him  out  of  the  forest, 
amidst  hooting  and  laughter. 

One  day,  as  he  was  on  his  way  to 
the  town  of  Nottingham,  Robin  Hood 
fell  in  with  a  traveling  tinker  and  asked 


-22  — 


P^O  *B  I  JSf        H  O  O  2> 


^riar  Tuck  marries  Robin  Hood  and  Maid  Marian. 


-23- 


R^O  B  /  ff        HOOT) 

him  for  the  news.  "Surely,"  said  he, 
"wandering  about  as  thou  dost,  thou 
must  hear  a  great  deal." 

"Ay,"  said  the  tinker,  "I  do,  and 
the  latest  I  have  heard  is  the  best." 

"What  may  that  be?"  asked  Robin. 

"It  is,"  replied  the  other,  "that  at  last 
there  is  to  be  an  effort  made  to  catch 
that  thief,  Robin  Hood.  He  has  done 
mischief  enough  in  this  forest.  I  have 
a  warrant,  myself,  from  the  Sheriff  of 
Nottingham  to  catch  him;  and  it  would 
be  worth  a  hundred  pounds  to  me  if  I 
could  find  him." 

Robin  laughed  to  himself  at  this,  but 
went  on  talking  to  the  tinker  until  they 
came  to  Nottingham.  Here  he  invited 
the  tinker  to  go  with  him  to  an  inn, 
where  he  treated  him  so  liberally  to  ale 
that  he  became  drunk,  and,  finally,  fell 
asleep.     When  he  awoke,  Robin  Hood 

—  24  — 


P^.O  S  I  JV        HOOD 

had  gone,  and  the  Sheriff's  warrant  was 
missing,  too.  The  tinker  called  the  land- 
lord, and  told  him  of  his  loss. 

"Why,"  said  the  landlord,  laughing, 
"thou  hast  been  cheated;  that  was  Robin 
Hood  himself." 

The  tinker  at  once  started  to  hunt 
for  Robin  again;  and  was  lucky  enough 
to  meet  him  in  the  forest  the  next  day. 
He  attacked  him  immediately  with  a 
thick  club  that  he  carried,  while  Robin 
defended  himself  as  best  he  could  with 
his  oaken  staff,  which  was  the  only 
weapon  he  had  with  him.  They  fought 
long,  on  nearly  even  terms,  until  at  last 
Robin's  staff  broke  beneath  the  stout 
blows  of  the  tinker,  who  then  called 
upon  him  to  yield  or  he  would  crack  his 
skull. 

Robin  blew  his  horn  for  help,  and 
Little  John  and  another  came  to  his  aid. 

—  25  — 


F^O  21  I  J*        HOOT} 

— —r—  -  ■■■  '  J '        ,  ',  ■  T         '■  '    ' "     ■'■"  I  ■'■    '     I  I     MM        ■■  '  I  ■        '   "      ' |  — ■ 

They  seized  the  tinker  and  were  going 
to  hang  him  to  a  tree,  but  he  was  such 
a  fine,  stout  fellow  that  Robin  Hood 
thought  he  would  like  to  add  him  to  his 
band.  So  he  proposed  that  he  should 
join,  saying  that  he  would  give  him  the 
hundred  pounds  reward  which  he  had 
lost.  This  was  too  good  an  offer  to  be 
refused,  so  the  tinker  agreed,  and  Robin 
said  that  as  he  was  a  man  of  metal  by 
trade,  he  hoped  he  would  prove  a  man 
of  mettle  by  nature. 

But  it  happened,  at  last,  that  King 
Richard  had  occasion  to  journey  into 
that  part  of  the  country  where  Sherwood 
forest  lay;  and  there  he  heard  so  much  of 
the  doings  of  Robin  Hood,  and  of  the 
way  in  which  he  evaded  capture,  that  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  something  must 
be  done  to  put  an  end  to  such  defiance 
of  authority.     But  he  was  advised  that 


-26  — 


P^O  ®  / 


it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  come  at 
Robin  Hood  with  a  force  of  troops,  as 
he  knew  the  forest  so  well,  and  how  to 
hide  in  it,  that  he  had  no  trouble  in 
escaping  from  pursuit  when  the  greater 
strength  of  his  foes  made  him  choose 
not  to  fight. 

So  the  King  concluded  to  go  into 
the  forest  alone,  wearing  plain  black 
armor,  and  without  anything  to  show 
that  he  was  King;  hoping  in  this  way 
to  meet  Robin  Hood,  and  learn  for  him- 
self what  kind  of  man  he  might  be. 

He  had  not  ridden  many  miles  be- 
fore he  was  called  upon  to  halt  by 
Robin  Hood  himself,  who  took  him  for 
some  obscure  knight.  The  King  had 
been  a  Crusader,  and  wore  the  red  cross 
which  was  borne  by  those  who  had 
gone  to  the  Holy  Land  to  fight;  and  as 
Robin  Hood  had  a  great  respect  for  nV 

-27  — 


The  King  is  ordered  to  halt  by  Robin  Hood* 

—  28  — 


B^O  3  I  JV        HOOT} 

such,  lie  addressed  the  supposed  knight 
in  a  friendly  way,  and  invited  him  to 
come  and  dine  with  him. 

The  King  consented,  and  Robin 
Hood  led  him  to  where  the  merry -men 
held  their  feasts,  and  they  all  sat  down 
to  a  banquet  of  the  best  the  forest 
afforded.  The  guest  proved  a  jolly  com- 
panion, and  did  his  share  in  the  way  of 
joke  and  song. 

Being  curious  to  know  if  Robin 
Hood  and  his  men  were  as  wonderful 
shots  as  report  made  them  out  to  be, 
the  King,  after  the  meal,  turned  the  talk 
on  to  the  subject  of  archery,  and  Robin 
Hood  was  soon  led  into  giving  an  exhi- 
bition of  the  skill  of  himself  and  his 
band.  Two  rods  were  set  up  at  a  dis- 
tance which  the  King,  from  his  know- 
ledge   of   archery,    thought   to    be   too 

distant  by  at  least  fifty  paces.  But  Robin 

— »— 


lK^O  *B  I  JV        HOOD 

I         ""'        """   ""*"   '■■*■        -   ■■  I'  '"     '"■  "■  ■        '"    "."X'—'JLl '■■ ~"1I  .I'-.T  ■".-■■'     ■■■    iT!     i      i  -    V.J..-.  ^^ 

Hood  said  that  his  men  must  shoot  at 
no  nearer  mark,  and  that  by  their  rules 
he  who  missed  should  receive  a  stout 
blow  as  a  penalty.  When  the  shooting 
began,  the  King  could  not  help  express- 
ing his  admiration  at  its  accuracy;  and 
the  infliction  of  the  penalty  in  the  few 
cases  in  which  shots  were  missed  made 
him  laugh  heartily.  Finally  he  spoke  to 
Robin  Hood  and  said: 

"Robin  Hood,  I  have  much  credit 
with  the  King.  How  would  it  be  if  I 
could  get  him  to  forgive  thy  misdoings? 
Wouldst  thou  be  one  of  his  men  and 
serve  him  faithfully?,, 

This  was  what  Robin  wished  more 
than  all  else  in  the  world.  "I  would 
be  glad,"  said  he,  "to  give  up  the  life  I 
lead.  I  did  not  like  it  from  the  first. 
Some  men  praise  my  deeds;  but,  for  my 
own   part,    I   hate   my   way  of   living. 


—  30 


B^O  V  I  J*        HOOD 

King  Richard  is  a  brave  prince,  and  if 
he  would  but  forgive  me,  he  would 
find  me  as  true  and  as  full  of  love  for 
him,  as  any  man  in  his  service." 

"I  am  King  Richard,"  said  the  knight 
as  he  stood  up  with  a  majestic  air;  and 
when  he  had  said  this,  Robin  Hood  and 
all  his  men  fell  down  on  their  knees 
before  him. 

"Stand  up,  my  brave  men,"  said 
the  King.  "You  have  been  thieves, 
which  you  should  not  have  been,  but 
you  are  able  to  serve  me  if  you  will.  I 
will  forgive  what  you  have  done  up  to 
this  time,  but  take  care  that  your  acts 
from  henceforth  are  such  that  I  shall  feel 
no  grief  for  the  way  I  now  treat  you." 

Then  Robin  and  his  men  arose  and 
gave  three  cheers  for  the  King. 

When  the  King  returned  to  London, 
Robin  and  many  of  his  men  went  with 

—  31  — 


B^O  2  J  ft 


O  O  2> 


When  they  found  that  the  King  was  addressing  them,  Robin 
Hood  and  his  men  fell  on  their  knees  before  him. 


—  M- 


B^O  g  /  jV        HOOT} 

him,  while  those  who  remained  were 
made  foresters.  Robin  rose  so  high  in 
the  King's  favor  that  he  became  rich, 
and  was  made  Earl  of  Huntingdon.  He 
continued  to  be  as  kind-hearted  as  ever, 
and  never  refused  to  help  the  poor  and 
unfortunate,  when  it  was  in  his  power 
to  aid  them. 

He  lived  at  court  many  years;  but 
when  he  grew  to  be  an  old  man,  a  great 
longing  took  possession  of  him  to  return 
to  the  forest  and  resume  the  merry  life 
he  had  led  there  in  his  younger  days. 
So  he  got  the  King's  permission  to  leave 
the  court,  and  with  his  dear  friend, 
Little  John,  who  shared  his  longing,  he 
sought  his  old  haunts  in  Sherwood. 

He  found  a  few  of  his  old  comrades 
still  living  there,  and  spent  some  time 
very  happily  with  them.  But  one  day, 
as   he   was    walking   with   Little  John, 


—  33  — 


JCQ  &  I  ft        HOOD 

he  said:  "We  have  shot  many  deer 
together,  Little  John,  but  to-day  I  feel 
as  though  I  could  shoot  no  more." 

"Why  sayest  thou  so,  dear  master," 
said  Little  John. 

"I  know  not  what  ails  me,"  said 
Robin  Hood,  "but  my  fingers  seem  too 
feeble  to  draw  the  bow.  Help  me  to 
Kirkley's  Priory,  Little  John,  perhaps 
my  cousin,  the  Prioress,  may  relieve  me 
by  letting  a  little  blood." 

So  they  set  out  for  the  Priory,  but 
with  all  the  assistance  Little  John  could 
give  him  the  walk  so  fatigued  Robin 
Hood  that  when  they  reached  there  he 
was  very  ill. 

His  cousin  received  him  with  great 
apparent  friendship,  and  Little  John  left 
him  in  her  care;  but  the  Prioress,  not 
realizing  his  weakened  condition,  bled 
him  too  freely. 


*I  will  shoot  one  more  shot,  and  where  the  arrow  falls,  bury  me." 

-38- 


P^O  *B  I  ft        HOOD 

When  Little  John  came  again  he 
found  his  master  in  a  dying  condition. 
When  he  asked  Robin  Hood  if  there 
were  nothing  he  could  do  for  him, 
he  said: 

"Bring  my  bow  and  arrows,  and 
open  yonder  window.  I  will  shoot  one 
more  shot,  and  where  the  arrow  falls, 
there  bury  me  with  my  bow  by  my 
side."  So  his  bow  was  brought,  and 
Little  John  supported  him  while,  with 
all  his  remaining  strength,  he  shot  an 
arrow  out  of  the  window.  He  fell  ex- 
hausted, and  soon  breathed  his  last. 

Then  his  friend,  the  heart-broken 
Little  John,  and  his  sorrowing  comrades, 
bore  him  to  the  spot  marked  by  the 
arrow;  and  there  his  grave  was  dug,  and 
he  was  laid  to  rest  as  he  had  directed, 
while  his  numerous  friends  mourned 
their  great  loss. 

t 


WHO  IS  THE  THIEF? 


When  I  was  a  boy,  my  mother  took  into  the  house  a  small 
girl,  to  run  of  errands  and  to  pick  peas.  The  name  of  this 
girl  was  Sarah.     She  was  not  more  than  twelve  years  old. 

The  parents  of  Sarah  were  quite  poor.  They  lived  not 
far  from  our  house ;  and,  when  we  gave  Sarah  any  thing  good 
to  eat,  she  would  want  to  run  and  take  it  to  her  father  or 
mother. 

One  fine  day  in  June,  my  mother  called  up  Mary,  the  girl 
who  used  to  set  the  table,  and  said,  "  Mary,  why  have  you 
rf>rgotten  to  put  the  bread  in  the  napkins  by  the  side  of  the 
plates  on  the  dinner-table  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure,  ma'am,"  said  Mary,  "  T  put  the  rolls  of  bread 
by  every  plate  not  half  an  hour  ago." 


WHO  IS  THE  THIEF1! 

"It  is  strange  that  they  are  not  there  now,"  said  my 
mother.     "  Put  on  some  more  bread  at  once." 

The  next  day,  it  was  rainy ;  but,  the  day  after  that,  the 
sk/  was  blue,  and  the  sun  bright.  Again  my  mother  called 
up  Mary,  and  said,  "  What  does  this  mean  ?  There  is  no 
bread  on  the  table  to-day." 

"  Well,  ma'am,  that  beats  all ! "  cried  Mary.  "  With  my 
own  hands  I  put  the  bread  at  every  plate  not  five  minutes 
ago ! " 

"  Who  do  you  think  has  taken  it  ?  "  asked  my  mother. 

"  Indeed,  ma'am,  I  can't  say  for  certain,"  replied  Mary ; 
"  but  I  can  guess  who  does  it.  I  think  the  thief  wears  a 
blue  calico  dress." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  Sarah  takes  the  bread  ?  " 

"  What  becomes  of  all  the  cake  and  pie  we  give  her, 
ma'am  ?  Off  it  goes  to  her  folks  the  first  chance.  Not  a 
bit  will  that  child  eat." 

"  I  will  not  think,"  said  my  mother, "  that  so  good  a  daugh- 
ter can  be  a  thief." 

"  Wait  and  see,  ma'am,"  said  Mary. 

At  the  dinner-table,  my  mother  told  my  father  of  the  loss 
of  the  bread,  and  added,  "  Mary  thinks  that  Sarah  is  the 
thief." 

"  No,  she  isn't,"  said  my  father.  "  She  hasn't  the  look  of 
a  thief.  The  girl  or  boy  who  does  mean  things  soon  shows 
it  in  the  face.     Was  the  bread  stolen  that  day  it  rained  ?  " 

"  No :  the  two  times  we  have  lost  it  the  day  has  been 
fair." 

"And  the  window  was  open  both  those  days,  was  it 
not?" 

«  Yes ;  but  what  has  that  to  do  with  the  theft  ?  " 

"I  will  watch  to-morrow,  and  then  I  will  let  you  know." 

So  the  next  day,  after  the  dinner-table  was  set,  my  father 


THE  SPIDER. 

stood  behind  the  door,  and  watched.  The  day  war  fair,  and 
the  window  was  open. 

By  and  by,  the  head  of  a  large  dog  appeared  at  the  win- 
dow.  He  looked  round,  saw  no  one,  and  leaped  in.  He 
went  to  each  plate,  took  the  roll  of  bread  and  ate  i^  but  did 
not  disturb  the  table. 

My  father  went  to  the  window  and  shut  it,  and  there  the 
thief  was  caught.  A  noble  dog,  but  thin  and  hungry.  My 
mother  and  I  came  in  and  saw  him. 

No  owner  could  be  found  for  the  dog ;  so  we  kept  him, 
and  fed  him,  and  after  that  he  did  not  steal.  We  called  him 
Bruno. 

As  for  Sarah,  my  father  gave  orders  that  she  should  have 
i  nice  plate  of  food  every  day  to  take  to  her  father  and 
mother.  csoie  chables. 

THE    SPIDEk. 

I  will  tell  you  what  my  little  niece  Mary  found  out  about 
the  spider.  She  learnt  it  all  from  books,  and  told  it  to  me 
as  I  now  tell  it  to  you. 

The  spider  is  very  greed'y  and  very  cun'ning.  In  less 
than  one  day,  he  will  eat  more  than  twenty  times  his  weight. 
If  a  little  boy  should  get  up  in  the  morning,  and  eat  a  fat 
pig,  and  ten  tur'keys ;  and  then,  about  noon,  eat  a  few  more 
pigs ;  and,  before  he  went  to  bed,  eat  a  sheep  or  two,  —  he 
would  not  do  more,  ac*cord'ing  to  his  size,  than  the  spider 
oan  do. 

The  spider  makes  his  web  so  that  he  may  catch  flies,  moths, 
and  such  small  things.  But,  if  a  bee  or  a  wasp  gets  caught 
in  his  web,  he  will  run  and  help  him  to  break  awty ;  for  h« 
^es  not  quite  like  the  ways  of  bees  and  wasps. 


A 


The  spider's  eyes  are  bright:  sometimes  he  has  six  cw 
eight  of  them.  He  can  smell,  hear,  and  taste.  Once  a  year, 
he  changes  his  skin,  and  has  a  new  set  of  legs.  If  one  of  his 
limbs  gets  torn  off,  he  does  not  mind  it  much  :  it  will  aoon 
grow  again. 


He  has  eight  legs;  and  these  are  joint'ed  like  a  crab's,  and 
have  claws  at  the  ends.  He  has  two  short  fore-arms,  with 
which  to  hold  his  prey. 

He  knows  when  there  is  to  be  a  change  of  weath'er.  By 
watch'ing  his  hab'its,  we  can  learn  to  fore-tell  a  great  storm  or 
a  great  frost.  He  goes  out  of  his  web  when  rain  or  a  bad 
storm  sets  in. 

A  spider  may  be  tamed.  A  man  in  prison  once  tamed  a 
spider,  so  that  it  would  come  and  eat  out  of  his  hand. 

I  will  tell  you  a  story  in  which  a  spicier  plays  a  part. 
There  was  once  a  young  prince,  who  said,  that,  if  he  had  the 
power,  he  would  kill  all  the  spiders  and  all  the  flies  in  ihe 
world. 


THE  SPIDER. 

One  day,  after  a  great  fight,  this  prince  had  to  hide  from 
his  foes.  He  ran  into  a  wood ;  and  there,  under  a  tree,  he 
lay  down  and  fell  asleep. 

One  of  his  foes  passed  by,  saw  him,  and,  with  his  dra  vn 
sword  in  his  hand,  was  creeping  up  to  him  to  kill  him,  when 
all  at  once  a  fly  stung  the  prince  on  his  lip,  and  woke  him. 
He  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  the  foe  ran  off 

That  night  the  prince  hid  himself  in  a  cave  in  the  same 
wood.  In  the  night,  a  spider  wove  her  web  across  the  en- 
trance of  the  cave. 

Two  men,  who  were  in  search  of  the  prince  that  they 
might  kill  him,  passed  the  cave  in  the  morn'ing ;  and  the 
prince  heard  what  they  said. 

"  Look ! "  cried  one  of  them.  "  He  must  be  hid  in  this 
cave." 

"  No,"  said  the  other,  "  that  cannot  be  ;  for,  if  he  had  gone 
in  there,  he  would  have  brushed  down  that  spider's  web." 

And  so  the  men  passed  on,  and  did  not  try  to  look  in  the 
cave. 

As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight,  the  prince  thought  how 
his  life  had  been  saved,  one  day  by  a  fly,  and  the  next  day 
by  a  spider ! 

He  raised  his  eyes  and  his  hands  to  heaven,  and  made  a 
prayer  of  thanks  to  God.  He  prayed,  that,  where  he  could 
not  see  why  God  had  given  life  to  this  ugly  thing  and  to 
that,  he  might  learn  to  trust  in  God,  and  to  wait  for  more 

light.  Emily  Cabteb 


THERE  IS  A  TIME  FOR  ALL  THINGS. 

Charles  Ray  came  home  from  school,  and  said  to  his 
broth'er,  "  Come,  Hen'ry,  you  have  staid  in  the  house  long 
e-nough.  There  is  fine  skating  on  the  pond.  Get  your 
skates,  and  let  us  be  off"." 

"  Stop  and  hear  me  read  this  sto'ry  in  my  little  magazine," 
uaid  Henry. 

"  I  shall  do  no  such  thing,"  said  Charles.  "  We  have  but 
an  hour  for  play  on  the  ice.  We  must  go  now  if  we  would 
go  at  all." 

"  But  this  is  such  a  nice  sto'ry  that  I  want  you  to  hear  it," 
said  Henry. 

"  I  will  hear  it  at  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  place," 
said  Charles.  "  It  is  play-time  now ;  and  I  shall  not  stop  to 
hear  you  read,  though  I  am  as  fond  of  that  little  magazine 
as  you  are." 

Henry  did  not  like  to  give  up  hi*,  wish,  and  so  he  be-gan 
to  read  a-loud. 


THERE  IS  A  TIME  FOR  ALL  THINGS. 

Then  Charles  said,  "You  are  as  bad  as  the  man  who 
stopped  to  scold  a  boy  at  the  wrong  time." 

"  Tell  me  a-bout  it,"  said  Henry. 

"Get  your  skates  and  come  a-long,  and  you  shall  hear 
a-bout  it,"  said  Charles.     "  It  is  worth  hear'ing." 

When  the  boys  were  out  in  the  cool  air  with  their  skates, 
Charles  told  the  tale  thus :  "  There  was  once  a  boy,  who,  in 
try'ing  to  learn  to  swim,  got  be-yond  his  depth  in  the  wa'ter, 
and  saw  that  he  must  drown  if  he  could  not  get  help. 

"  See'ing  a  man  on  a  rock  near  by,  he  cried  out  to  him  to 
help  him.  But  the  man  be-gan  to  talk  to  him  thus :  '  My 
young  friend,  you  did  wrong  in  go'ing  into  the  wa'ter  before 
you  knew  how  to  swim.  You  did  wrong  in  com'ing  a-lone 
to  the  beach,  and  go'ing  out  be-yond  your  depth.  You  did 
wrong ' — 

"  '0  sir !  sir ! '  cried  the  poor  boy, '  please  help  me  now, 
and  scold  me  after-wards.  I  shall  drown  be-fore  you  get 
through  your  ser'mon.' 

< '  Do  not  speak,  but  hear  the  voice  of  wis'dom,  my  young 
friend,'  said  the  man.  '  Let  this  teach  you  neVer  to  go  be- 
yond your  depth.     If  you  had  been  a  good,  wise  boy,' — 

"  Here  the  boy  sank." 

"  Was  the  boy  drowned  ?  "  asked  Henry. 

"  No :  he  was  not  drowned.  A  big  wave  bore  him  in,  where 
it  was  not  over  his  head ;  and  he  soon  got  on  his  feet,  and 
ran  up  the  beach,  and  put  on  his  clothes." 

"  I  hope  he  gave  that  man  a  piece  of  his  mind,"  said  Hen- 
ry.    "  What  a  foolish  old  man  he  must  have  been  ! " 

"  I  do  not  know  what  the  boy  said,"  said  Charles.  "  I  only 
know  that  the  story  ought  to  teach  us  that  a  thing  that  may 
be  good  at  one  time  may  not  be  so  good  at  an-oth'er.  The 
man  was  to  blame  in  choos'ing  such  a  time  as  that  to  preach" 

Sasdt  Bat. 


fi< 


THE  BLUEBIRDS  WHO  WOULD  HAVE  THEIR  HOUSE 

CLEANED. 

I  want  to  tell  you  a  short  story  about  some  birds.  It  is 
a  true  story  about  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bluebird. 

I  have  a  friend  who  is  very  fond  of  all  kinds  of  pets,  and, 
most  of  all,  of  birds ;  and  she  loves  so  much  to  watch  them, 
that  she  has  put  two  little  bird-houses  in  the  trees  near  her 
window. 

Here,  every  year,  a  pair  of  bluebirds  come  to  make  their 
home  for  the  summer.  My  friend  likes  very  much  to  watch 
them,  as  they  fly  round  so  busily,  getting  food  for  their  little 
ones,  and,  when  the  warm  weather  comes,  teaching  them  to 

fly- 
So,  very  early  every  spring,  my  friend  has  the  gardener 

clean  out  the  houses,  and  make  them  quite  nice,  and  ready 

for  the  little  birds.    But  this  spring,  she  was  busy  about  other 

things ;  and  it  was  so  cold  and  chilly,  she  scarcely  thought 

of  the  birds. 

But  one  morning,  as  she  was  sitting  by  her  window,  she 

heard  a  great  twittering  and  fluttering  in  the  old  maple-tree. 

It  was  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bluebird,  and  they  were  in  some  trouble. 
Mrs.  Bluebird  would  go  into  the  house  and  look  round ; 

and  then  she  would  come  out  and  talk  away  to  Mr.  Bluebird ; 

and  then  he  would  go  in,  and  they  would  both  come  out,  and 

chatter  and  scold. 

Then  they  examined  the  other  house  ;  but  it  did  not  suit 

them  any  better.     They  said,  just  as  plainly  as  birds  could, 

that  they  would  not  do  their  own  house-cleaning  ;  and  then 

they  flew  oS. 


THE   EUROPEAN   HO  USE-SPAR RROW. 

My  friend  was  very  much  amused ;  but  she  felt  sorry  too. 
for  the  disappointed  little  birds ;  so  she  had  the  houses  all 
put  in  good  order  that  very  day. 

The  next  morning  she  was  much  pleased  to  see  the  little 
birds  back  again.  No  doubt  they  were  glad  to  find  their 
house  so  nicely  cleaned  and  put  in  order.  They  went  to 
work  happily  and  cheerfully  to  build  their  nest,  and  then  tc 
go  to  house-keeping  for  the  summer. 

Don't  you  think  they  were  funny  little  bluebirds  ? 

Charlie's   Mamma 


-»o?e<oo- 


SOMEBODY'S    COMING. 


Kris  Kringle  is  coming, 
Kris  Kringle  is  coming, 

Kris  Kringle  is  coming  to  town  ! 
He  wears  a  big  pack 
On  the  top  of  his  back, 

And  looks  like  a  funny  old  clown. 

Now  wait  just  a  minute : 
I'll  tell  what  is  in  it, 

Then  won't  your  eyes  sparkle  with  joy  1 
There's  something  with  curls 
For  good  little  girls, 

And  something  as  nice  for  each  boy. 

There  are  flaxen-haired  dollies, 
And  all  sorts  of  follies, 

To  please  little  folks  Christmas  Day ; 
There  are  gay  horses  prancing, 
And  Dandy  Jacks  dancing, 

And  every  thing  fitted  for  play. 

From  Kris  Kringle's  chin 
Hangs  a  plenty  of  tin,  — 
Tin  trumpets,  and  watches  and  drums ; 


Noah's  ark  painted  red, 
A  little  doll's  bed, 
And  soldiers  with  very  big  guns. 

From  out  of  his  pockets 
He'll  take  sugar  lockets 

And  candies,  all  red,  white,  and  blue  j 
And  there  will  be  kisses 
For  nice  little  misses, 

And  sweetmeats  in  plenty  for  you. 

Oh  !  won't  there  be  funning, 
And  laughing  and  running, 

When  little  folks  peep  in  their  hose, 
And  pull  out  the  candy, 
And  every  thing  handy, — 

Stuffed  full  to  the  end  of  the  toes ! 

Then  hang  up  your  stockings  ! 
Oh !  won't  there  be  knockings 

When  Kris  Kringle  enters  the  town  .' 
He  wears  a  big  pack 
On  the  top  of  his  back, 

And  looks  like  a  funny  old  clown  ! 

Aunt  Clakm 


OLD    MAJOR. 

Evert  summer,  when  the  warm  July  days  come,  we  leave 
Dur  dusty  city,  and,  getting  on  one  of  the  beautiful  steamers 
that  are  daily  passing,  we  glide  over  the  lovely  Detroit  River, 
through  Lake  St.  Clair  and  Lake  Huron,  until  we  come  to 
the  beautiful  island  of  Mackinac. 

The  island  rises  like  an  emerald  from  the  clear  waters  of 
the  lake ;  and  the  pure,  life-giving  breezes  that  sweep  over 
it  have  made  it  a  famous  place  of  resort  for  those  persons 
in  search  of  health  or  of  pleasure. 

We  are  sure  to  have  a  warm  welcome  from  our  friends 
there ;  and  no  one  of  them  expresses  more  gladness  at  our 
coming  than  good  old  Major. 

1  Major  is  a  large  Newfoundland  dog ;  but  he  and  his  little 
mistress  Jessie,  who  is  about  the  same  age,  are  such  constant 
playmates,  that  he  really  seems  to  think  himself  one  of  the 
family. 

Jessie  and  Major  always  meet  us  when  we  land  from  the 
steamer ;  and  the  first  thing  that  all  the  children  do  is  to  try 
who  shall  reach  the  beach  first.  There  is  a  hard  chase,  with 
much  laughing  and  shouting ;  but  Major  gets  ahead,  because, 
you  know,  he  has  four  feet,  and  the  others  only  two. 

When  the  children  tire  of  the  beach,  they  start  for  the 
bluffs,  which  are  high  and  steep.  The  one  that  gets  to  the 
foot  of  the  hill  first  takes  hold  of  Major's  tail,  and  is  drawn 
up  in  fine  style.     This  is  great  fun. 

In  the  long  twilight,  when  the  children  gather  on  the  green 
to  play,  they  sometimes  give  Major  a  ride  in  the  wheelbar- 
row. Then  Jessie  will  say  in  a  pitying  tone,  "  Poor  Maj. 
is  dead ! "  and  tip  him  out  on  the  grass  ;  and  there  he  will 
lie  as  stiff  as  a  stick  of  wood. 


OLD  MAJOR. 


One  of  the  children  will  raise  his  head  or  tail ;  but  it  wil\ 
drop  back  like  lead.    Then  they  all  say,  "Poor  Maj.  is  dead ! " 


Pretty  soon  one  of  them  will  say.  a  I  don't  believe  he  is  deadi 
I  saw  him  wink" 


KINDNESS  TO  ANIMALS. 

Then  they  all  say,  "  Oh,  no !  he  must  be  dead ; "  when  up 
Major  springs,  and  jumps  about,  and  wags  his  tail,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "  Didn't  I  fool  you  nicely  ?  " 

You  would  laugh  to  see  Major  and  the  little  chickens  to- 
gether. When  he  lies  down,  they  sometimes  flock  round 
him,  nestle  on  his  back,  climb  on  his  head,  and  peck  at  his 
ears. 

One  day,  Fanny  called  us  to  the  window  to  look  at  a 
smart  little  chick  perched  on  the  middle  of  his  back,  and 
scratching  as  busily  as  any  chick  on  the  ground. 

Now,  don't  you  think  Major  is  a  nice  old  fellow  ?  If  you 
will  come  up  to  Mackinac  next  summer,  I  will  show  him  to 
you,  and  you  shall  see  also  the  beautiful  woods  where  the 
children  make  their  play-houses,  and  a  hundred  pretty 
things  that  I  have  not  time  to  write  about 

Detboit,  Mich.  Aunt  Hattie. 


KINDNESS  TO   ANIMALS. 

In  the  sketch  on  the  next  page,  the  artist  shows  us  a  scene 
that  is  very  common  in  England. 

It  is  a  group  of  children  looking  at  a  printed  placard. 
Let  us  see  if  we  can  tell  what  is  printed  upon  it. 

We  can  read  the  head-line  with  ease.     It  is,  — 

"The  Animals'  Friend's  Almanac." 

The  large  picture  in  the  middle  is  plain  enough.  It  is  a 
horse  drinking  at  a  fountain.  There  is  a  picture  of  birds  at 
the  top.     The  other  pictures  we  cannot  make  out. 

But  we  have  seen  enough  to  know  what  the  placard 
means,  and  why  it  is  put  up  in  such  a  public  place.     It  is 


KINDNESS   TO  ANIMALS. 


a  good  word  spoken  by  kind  people  for  the  animals,  that 
cannot  speak  for  themselves.  A  street  placard  like  this  ia 
much  needed  in  this  country.  It  ought  to  be  as  common  as 
it  is  in  England ;  for  it  is  sure  to  attract  attention,  and 
answers  a  very  useful  purpose. 


PUSSY  WHITENOSE. 


"  What  a  funny  name  for  a  cat ! "  some  of  you  may 
Bay,  as  you  read  the  above  title.  Well,  if  you  could  see 
the  cat  herself,  you  would  know  why  we  call  her  "  Pussy 
Whitenose  ; "  but  the  picture  of  her  will  tell  you  almost  as 
well. 

If  you  look  at  it  again,  you  will  see  that  her  fore-paws 
are  rather  large  and  queer.  They  are  double  paws ;  that  is5 
on  each  of  them  grows  an  extra  toe,  with  a  claw  in  it,  mak- 
ing the  foot  look  something  like  a  mitten.  Such  paws  are 
sometimes  called  "  mitten-paws." 

These  large  paws  look  very  clumsy ;  but  they  are  lively 
enough  when  after  a  rat  or  a  mouse ;  and,  when  they  get 
hold  of  one,  there  is  very  little  chance  for  it  to  escape. 

When  Pussy  Whitenose  was  a  kitten,  I  used  to  play  with 


PUSSY   W HIT  EN  0  SB. 

her  a  great  deal,  and  I  taught  her  to  do  some  funny  things. 
One  was  this  :  I  would  stoop  down,  put  my  hand  over  mv 
shoulder,  and  snap  my  fingers.  When  Pussy  heard  this, 
up  she  would  jump,  and  sit  upon  my  shoulder ;  and  there 
she  would  stay  while  I  walked  around  the  cellar. 

If  I  put  my  hand  up  on  one  side,  she  would  whisk  around, 
and  rub  her  head  against  that  hand ;  and  when  I  changed 
my  hand  to  the  other  shoulder,  round  would  come  old 
"Whitey,"  and  push  against  it,  and  purr,  as  if  to  show 
how  happy  she  was  feeling. 

Pussy  Whitenose  is  now  an  old  cat,  having  lived  with  us 
more  than  eight  years;  but  she  has  not  forgotten  her 
youthful  tricks,  and  I  have  seen  her  frolic  with  her  own 
kittens  almost  as  merrily  as  if  she  were  a  kitten  herself. 

The  other  night  I  went  into  the  cellar  to  get  a  hod  of 
coal.  Old  Pussy  was  there,  having  a  quiet  nap.  Just  to 
try  her  I  stooped  down,  and  snapped  my  fingers,  as  I  used  to 
do.  She  left  her  bed  in  a  moment,  and  jumped  up  to  her 
old  place  on  my  shoulder. 

I  went  about  my  work,  shovelled  the  coal  into  the  hod, 
crossed  the  cellar,  went  up  two  flights  of  stairs  to  my  room, 
and,  putting  down  the  coal-hod,  began  dancing  about,  with 
old  Pussy  Whitenose  clinging  to  her  seat  all  the  while,  and 
purring  loudly.  I  believe  she  Would  have  staid  there  all 
night,  if  I  had  not  made  her  jump  down,  and  go  back  to  her 
bed  in  the  cellar.  THEo.  melvills. 


^^^iii^*^3 


THE  SHOEBLACK'S  DOG. 

Oh,  what  a  sly  dog  !  Just  look  at  him  !  What  do  you 
suppose  he  is  doing  ?  I  think  you  might  guess  many  times, 
and  not  guess  right. 

I  will  tell  you  what  that  sly  dog  is  doing :  he  is  trying  to 
muddy  Mr.  Blake's  clean  shoes.  But  why  should  he  do 
that  ?     You  shall  learn. 

Mr.  Blake  was  in  the  great  city  of  Paris.  He  walked  out 
on  a  bridge  one  day,  when  this  dog,  whose  name  is  Nap, 
came  up  with  muddy  paws,  and  acted  as  I  tell  you.  Mr. 
Blake  went  to  a  shoeblack  near  by,  and  paid  him  for  clean- 
ing his  shoes. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Blake  was  walking  over  the  same 
bridge,  when  Nap  again  ran  up,  and  soiled  his  shoes.     "  I 


THE  SHOEBLACK'S  DOG. 


will  see  what  this  means,"  thought  Mr.  Blake  :  so  he  waiK^  , 
on,  and  stood  where  he  could  watch  the  dog. 

Nap  ran  down  by  the  river's  side,  and  put  his  paws  in  the 
mud,  and  then  came  up  on  the  bridge.  When  he  saw  a  gen- 
tleman pass,  he  would  run,  and  wipe  his  dirty  paws  on  his 
shoes  ;  and  then  the  gentleman  would  go  to  the  shoeblack, 
and  pay  him  for  cleaning  them. 

"  I  see  how  it  is ! "  said  Mr.  Blake  to  himself.  "  That  dog 
belongs  to  the  shoeblack,  who  has  trained  him  to  muddy  the 
shoes  of  people  passing  by,  so  that  they  may  come  and  give 
the  shoeblack  a  job." 

Then  Mr.  Blake  went  up  to  the  man,  and  said,  "  Why  do 
you  let  your  dog  act  in  this  way  ?  " 

"  Ah !  trade  is  so  bad  !  "  said  the  man. 

"  Come,  I  will  buy  your  dog,"  said  Mr.  Blake. 

So  Mr.  Blake  bought  the  dog,  and  took  him  co  Load  on, 
where  he  kept  him  tied  up  for  some  time  ;  but  at  last  he 
let  him  go  loose.  Nap  ran  away ;  and,  two  weeks  afterwards, 
he  had  found  his  way  back  to  Paris,  to  his  old  master. 

How  Nap  got  across  the  channel  I  do  not  know.  I  only 
know  this  is  a  true  story ;  and  I  think  I  never  heard  of  such 
a  sly  dog  as  this  same  Nap. 


Trottie's  Aunt. 


See  this  little  boy  and  his  sister  seated  on  the  bank,  and  watching  the 


ISE^S^ -12  ^^^v^^.T^^^M^^. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SUMMER. 

Ellen  and  Ruth  sat  on  the  sofa  in  the  nice  warm  room 
where  their  father  kept  his  books.  A  fire  burnt  in  the  grate ; 
but,  out  of  doors,  the  wind  blew  hard,  and  the  snow  beat 
against  the  windows. 

"  Don't  you  remember,"  said  Ruth, "  when  we  used  to  work 
in  our  little  garden,  with  the  watering-pot  and  the  rake  ?  " 

u  Yes,"  said  Ellen ;  "  and  don't  you  remember  how  I  used 
to  get  my  little  basket  full  of  flowers,  and  bring  them  in,  and 
iix  them  in  a  vase,  and  then  put  them  on  father's  table  ?  " 

"Yes;  and  then  we  would  go  and  rake  hay  in  the  fields 
where  the  men  had  been  mowing.  How  sweet  the  hay  used 
to  smell !     Oh,  I  clo  not  like  the  winter  at  all ! " 

"  Do  not  say  so,  Ruth !  Think  how  much  that  is  sweet  the 
winter  brings  us.  We  can  slide  on  the  ice  ;  we  can  drag 
our  little  sleds ;  and  we  are  to  have,  each  of  us,  a  pair  of 


&  DIALOGUE  FOR  GEORGE  AND  FRANK. 

skates  soon.  It  was  only  the  other  day  I  heard  you  say 
you  were  glad  to  see  the  snow." 

*  It  is  very  odd,  Ellen ;  but  in  winter,  when  I  think  of 
summer,  I  like  the  summer  best ;  and  in  summer,  when  I 
think  of  winter,  I  like  the  winter  best." 

"  That  shows,  my  dear  little  Ruth,  that  God,  who  gives  us 
winter  and  summer,  and  autumn  and  spring,  knows  best 
what  is  good  for  us.  Our  true  way  is  to  be  content  with 
every  season  as  it  comes,  and  not  to  keep  finding  fault  with 
the  weather." 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  true  way,"  said  Euth ;  "  and,  though  it  is 
so  dark  and  stormy  out  of  doors  now,  we  can  sit  here  before 
this  nice,  cheerful  fire,  and  read  our  good  books,  and  look  at 
pictures  of  the  summer-time,  till  we  almost  feel  as  if  we 
were  plucking  flowers  and  raking  hay  once  more." 

AjiKA  LlVIKGSTOB. 


oJ«<> 


A  DIALOGUE  FOR  GEORGE  AND  FRANK. 


GEORGE. 


Somebody's  been  in  the  garden, 
Nipping  the  blossoms  fair  : 

All  the  green  leaves  are  blackened 
Who  do  you  think  was  there  ? 


FRANK. 


Somebody's  been  in  the  forest, 
Cracking  the  chestnutrburrs : 

Who  is  it  dropping  the  chestnuts 
Whenever  a  light  wind  stirs  1 


A  DIALOGUE  FOR  GEORGE  AND  FRANK. 

GEORGE. 

Somebody's  been  at  the  windows, 

Marking  on  every  pane  : 
Who  made  the  delicate  drawings 

Of  lace-work  and  moss  and  grain  ? 

FRANK. 

Somebody's  all  the  time  working 

Out  on  the  pond  so  blue, 
Bridging  it  over  with  crystal,  — 

Now  can  you  tell  me  who  ? 

GEORGE. 

While  he  is  building  his  bridges 

We  will  patiently  wait ; 
And,  when  he  has  them  all  finished 

Then  we  will  slide  and  skate. 

FRANK. 

And  I  will  hurrah,  and  you  will  hurrah-^ 

GEORGE 

And  we  both  will  hurrah — - 

For  Jack  Frost !  am 


LOYE  IS  THE  BEST  FORCE. 

Once  two  little  boys  were  on  their  way  to  school.     They 

were  broth'ers,  and  their  names  were  John  and  Frank.    John 

was  the  old'er  of  the  two,  and  he  liked  to  rule  Frank  by 

^  sharp  words ;  but  Frank  did  not 

like  to  be  ruled  in  that  way. 

"Come  on — quick'er,  quick'er. 
What  a  slow  coa  ch  you  are  ! "  said 
John. 

"  It  is  not  late,  and  the  day  is 
hot,"  said  Frank. 

"  I  tell  you  I  want  to  get  to 
school  in  time  to  clean  out  my 
desk,"  said  John.  "  Come  !  you 
shall  come." 

And  then  John  tried  to  pull 
Frank  a-long  by  main  force  ;  but, 
the  more  John  pulled,  the  more  Frank  made  up  his  mind 
not  to  yield. 

While  the  dis-pute  went  on,  they  came  to  a  place  in  the 
road  where  a  man  was  trying  to  make  a  horse  pull  a  great 
load  of  stones.  The  horse  had  stopped  to  rest,  when  the 
man  be-gan  to  beat  him. 

This  the  horse  did  not  like,  for  he  had  tried  to  do  his  best : 
so  he  stood  stock  still.  In  vain  did  the  man  lay  on  the  lash: 
the  horse  would  not  start.  In  vain  did  the  man  swear  at 
him :  the  horse  did  not  mind  his  oaths. 


LOVE  IS  THE  BEST  FORCE. 

Just  then  a  young  man  came  u  ,  and  said  to  the  man 
with  the  load  of  stones,  «  Why  do  you  treat  a  good,  brave 
horse  in  that  way  ?  He  woidd  pull  for  you  till  he  died,  if 
you  would  only  treat  him  kindly.  Stand  a-side,  and  Jet  me 
show  you  how  to  treat  a  good  horse." 

So  the  man  stood  a-side ;  and  the  young  man  went  up,  and 
put  his  arm  round  the  neck  of  the  horse,  and  pat'ted  him  on 
the  back,  and  said,  "Poor  old  fellow !  It  was  too  bad  to 
lash  you  so,  when  you  were  doing  your  best,  and  just  stopped 
&  mo'ment  to  take  breath." 

And  so  the  young  man  soothed  the  poor  beast,  by  kind 
words  and  soft  pats  with  his  hand ;  and  then  said  to  him, 
"  Now,  good  old  horse,  see  what  you  can  do !  Come,  sir !  we 
have  only  a  few  steps  more  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  Get  up 
now.  Show  you  will  do  for  love  what  you  would  not  do 
for  hate." 

The  horse  seemed  to  know  what  was  said  to  him ;  for  he 
start'ed  off  at  a  strong,  brisk  pace,  and  was  soon  at  the  top 
of  the  hill. 

"  There,  my  good  friend,"  said  the  young  man  to  the  driv'er, 
"I  hope  you  see  now  that  love  is  the  best  force;  that  even 
beasts  will  do  for  you,  when  you  are  kind,  what  they  will 
.not  do  when  you  are  harsh." 

John  heard  all  these  words,  and  they  set  him  to  thinking. 
At  last  he  said  to  Frank,  "  It  is  a  hot  day,  Frank ;  and  it  is  not 
late.     Let  us  walk  through  the  lane  to  school." 

"  No,  John,"  said  Frank,  "  I  will  take  the  short  cut,  and  will 
walk  just  as  fast  as  you  want  me  to.     So,  come  on." 

"Frank,"  said  John,  "Love  is   bet'ter  than  hate,  —  isn't 

it?" 

"  Oh,  a  thous'and  times  better ! "  cried  Frank. 

As  chance  would  have  it,  they  that  day  read  in  school  a 
fa'ble,  two  thous'and  years  old,  which  I  will  now  tell  you. 


EVENING  HIMN. 


The  North  Wind  and  the  Sun  had 
a  dis-pute  as  to  which  could  show  the 
more  strength.  They  a-greed  that 
the  one  that  could  strip  a  man  first 
of  his  cloak  should  be  the  ~ic'tor. 

First  the  North  Wind  tried  his 
strength:  he  blew,  and  blew,  with 
all  his  might ;  but,  blow  as  hard  as  he 
could,  he  could  not  do  much.  The 
man  drew  his  cloak  round  him  more 
and  more  tight;  he  would  not  let  it 
be  torn  from  him.  So  at  last  the  North 
Wind  gave  up  the  tug,  and  called  on 
the  Sun  to  see  what  he  could  do. 

By  look'ing  at  the  two  pict'ures  of  the  same  man,  you  may 
see  what  the  North  Wind  could  not  do,  and  what  the  Sun 
did  do.  The  Sun  shone  out  with  all  his  warmth.  The  man 
could  not  well  bear  the  heat:  he  soon  grew  to  be  so  warm 
that  he  had  to  take  off  his  cloak ;  and  so  the  Sun  be-came 
the  win'ner  in  the  tri'al. 


Love  has  more  strength  than  hate. 


Emily  Castes 


o» 


EVENING    HYMN. 

I  hear  no  voice,  I  feel  no  touch, 

I  see  no  glory  bright; 
But  yet  I  know  that  God  is  near, 

In  darkness  as  in  light. 


He  watches  ever  by  my  side, 

And  hears  my  whispered  prayer: 

The  Father  for  his  little  child 
Both  night  and  day  doth  care. 


NOW.  CARLO,  B  IS  FOR  BARK! 


oJ<Ko 


MABEL  AND  HER   GRANDMOTHER. 


Mabel  and  her  little  sister  Jane  are  orphans.  They  live 
vith  their  grandmother,  who  is  very  kind  to  them.  In  the 
picture,  she  is  showing  the  children  a  likeness  of  their 
nother. 

With  such  a  pleasant  home,  and  such  a  loving  grand- 
mother, one  would  think  that  these  two  little  girls  ought  to 
be  happy  and  contented.  And  Jane,  the  younger  of  the 
two,  is  as  happy  as  the  day  is  long. 

But  Mabel,  although  not  a  bad  child  at  heart,  has  an 
unhappy  temper.  She  is  sometimes  moody  and  wayward, 
ind  gives  her  good  grandmother  much  trouble. 

I  will  tell  you  one  of  her  freaks,  and  how  her  grand- 
mother managed  her. 

-  One  day  Mabel  had  been  reproved  for  some  fault,  and 
tnew  that  she  had  done  wrong ;  but,  instead  of  saying  that 
the  was  sorry,  she  brooded  over  the  matter  until  she  per- 
vaded herself  that  she  had  been  very  much  injured. 


MABEL  AND  HER   GRANDMOTHER. 


So  she  said  to  herself,  "  I  will  run  away.  I  will  mak. 
g  indmother  sorry  that  she  has  treated  me  so." 

Poor  little  Mabel !  She  never  stopped  to  think  what 
"  i  inning  away "  meant,  but  went  softly  up  stairs  to  hei 
dm  n  room,  and  began  taking  out  articles  of  dress  from  the 
bureau-drawer. 

Just  then  her  grandmother  came  up  stairs,  and,  seeing 
what  was  going  on,  knew  in  a  moment  what  was  passing  in 
Mabel's  mind. 

"If  my  little  girl  is  going  away,"  she  said  very  quietly,  "I 
mujt  get  her  something  to  pack  her  clothes  in." 


MABEL  AND  HER   GRANDMOTHER. 

Then  she  brought  a  little  travelling-bag,  and  Mabel  packed 
her  clothes  in  it. 

"  I  must  pay  you  the  fifty  cents  I  promised  you  the  other 
day,"  said  her  grandmother.    "  Here  it  is.    You  may  need  it." 

Mabel  began  to  feel  ashamed  when  she  saw  the  sad  look 
on  her  grandmother's  face.  But  she  was  too  proud  to  say 
so.     Pretty  soon  her  bag  was  packed,  and  she  was  all  ready 

She  could  not  go  without  bidding  little  Jane  good-by. 
Jane  was  asleep  in  her  crib.  Mabel  kissed  her ;  and  saying. 
"  Good-by,  dear  Jenny :  you  may  have  my  fifty  ceats,"  she 
put  the  money  into  Jane's  little  chubby  hand. 

But  now  there  were  tears  in  Mabel's  eyes,  and  two  large 
drops  were  rolling  down  her  cheeks. 

"  Good-by,  grandmother,"  said  she. 

"Good-by,  dear  child,"  said  her  grandmother.  "I  hope 
people  will  be  kind  to  you  where  you  are  going'' 

Mabel  could  hold  out  no  longer. 

*Q  grandmother!"  she  sobbed.  "I  want  to  stay  with 
you.  I  will  never,  never,  be  a  naughty  girl  again,  if  you 
will  only  love  me  once  more." 

"  I  have  always  loved  you,  my  darling  Mabel,"  said  hei 
grandmother,  giving  her  a  kiss ;  "  and  I  love  you  now  bettei 
than  ever.  Come  now,  we  will  hang  up  this  travelling-baa 
and  you  shall  be  my  own  dear  little  girl  again."  u^ 


£^iO** 


THE  FAWN  CHASED  BY  DOGS. 

FAWN  is  a  young  deer.  I  will  tell  you  a  true 
story  of  one.  On  a  bright  summer  day  last 
year,  a  fawn  lay  nibbling  the  tender  grass  on 
the  border  of  a  wood  in  Oregon.  She  lay 
there  at  ease,  as  if  there  were  no  cause  for  fear  : 
for  the  birds  sang  on  the  trees ;  and  under  the  blue  sky 
floated  the  clouds,  with  their  white,  shining  folds  turned  out 
to  catch  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

All  at  once  the  little  fawn  started  to  her  feet,  and  pricked 
up  her  ears.  What  did  she  hear  ?  Ah !  It  was  something 
more  than  the  sweet  twitter  of  birds  :  it  was  the  barking  of 
dogs  who  had  scented  her  track,  and  were  in  full  pursuit. 

Off  started  the  little  fawn  :  and  it  was  well  she  ran  swift- 
ly ;  for  soon  three  fierce  dogs  that  had  strayed  from  a  farm 
near  by  rushed  from  the  woods  into  the  clearing,  and  by 
their  fierce  barking  made  her  heart  beat.  From  the  clear- 
ing she  ran  into  a  grove  where  the  trees  grew  high  and 
thick ;  but  the  dogs  followed  close  on  her  path,  and  she  sa'W 
they  were  gaining  on  her  fast. 

Now,  it  happened  that  Silas  Mason  was  at  work  squaring 
timber  near  his  log-hut  on  the  edge  of  the  grove.  As  his 
raised  axe  descended  into  the  timber,  he  heard  the  barking 
of  dogs,  and,  looking  up,  saw  a  beautiful  young  fawn  gallop- 
ing towards  him.  The  next  moment  the  three  dogs  made 
their  appearance. 

Seizing  a  stout  stick,  Silas  beat  them  off;  and  as  soon  as 
they  were  out  of  sight  he  turned,  and  saw  the  fawn  stand- 
ing by  the  timber,  her  dark  eyes  sparkling,  and  her  neck 
outstretched  as  if  to  be  sure  that  her  enemies  had  gone. 

By  a  strange  instinct  the  fawn  seemed  to  know  at  ont. 
that  Silas  was  her  friend,  and  that  but  for  him  she  would 


THE  FAWN  CHASED  BY  DOGS. 


have  been  torn  in  pieces.  She  let  him  come  up  to  her,  and 
pat  her  on  the  head,  and  then  watched  him  curiously  as  he 
brought  water  to  her  in  a  pail.  She  took  both  water  and 
food  from  his  hands,  and  did  not  seem  at  all  afraid. 

See  what  kindness  will  do,  even  to  an  untamed  animal. 
For  the  rest  of  the  day  the  fawn  staid  near  her  pro- 
tector, and  seemed  happy  in  his  presence.  But  the  next 
morning  she  had  disappeared.  Perhaps  she  went  to  seek 
her  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  woods. 

Some  one  said  to  Silas,  "  Why  didn't  you  shoot  her  for 
venison?" — "What!"  cried  Silas,  "betray  confidence  — 
that  of  a  poor  dumb  animal  —  of  one  who  had  run  to  me  even 
for  help  from  her  enemies  ?  No :  I  would  sooner  have  gone 
without  my  dinner  for  a  week  than  have  harmed  that  little 
fawn  after  she  had  asked  me,  by  her  looks,  to  protect  her. 
No  good  man  will  betray  confidence." 


Uncle  Charles. 


oXKo 


FKKlUNli    'J  UK    SWANS 


MORE   ABOUT    PARROTS. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  a  macaw,  which  is  the  largest  of  all 
the  parrots.  It  is  found  in  South  America,  and  is  known  by 
its  bare  cheeks,  and  its  long,  tapering  tail. 

Its  plumage  is  very  brilliant.  The  principal  species  are 
the  red,  the  blue,  the  green,  and  the  black. 

It  is  easily  tamed,  but  cannot  learn  to  talk  so  well  as  some 
of  the  smaller  parrots,  —  such  as  we  have  had  some  stories 
about  in  u  The  Nursery." 

We  have  another  good  parrot-story,  which  was  sent  to  us 
by  a  little  girl  in  New  Jersey,  who  signs  it "  Laura  Yard, 
aged  thirteen  years."     We  give  it  in  her  own  words :  — 

"  A  friend  of  mine  had  a  parrot  that  played  a  good  many 
funny  pranks.     Sometimes  he  would  go  to  the  piano,  mm. 


A  PUZZLING    QUESTION. 

step  on  the  keys ;  and,  when  they  sounded,  he  would  say, 
<  Goodness  gracious  sakes ! '  and  everybody  would  laugh. 

"  My  friend  had  a  chair  which  she  did  not  allow  the  chil- 
dren to  sit  in.  One  day,  a  lady  came  to  make  a  call ;  and, 
while  waiting  in  the  parlor,  she  was  surprised  to  hear  some 
one  say, '  Get  right  out  of  that  chair ! ' 

"  She  looked,  but  could  see  nobody.  She  was  just  sitting 
down  again,  when  the  same  voice  said, <  Get  right  out  of 
that  chair ! ' 

"  Well,  she  did  get '  out,'  and  took  another  chair ;  but  she 
was  scarcely  seated,  before  she  heard  the  same  voice,  <  Get 
right  out  of  thai  chair ! ' 

"  She  was  about  to  leave  the  house,  when  she  saw  perched 
in  his  cage  a  parrot,  and  knew  at  once  where  the  voice 
came  from. 

«  Then  she  laughed,  and  told  the  story  as  a  good  joke." 

A  PUZZLING  QUESTION. 

I  will  tell  you  a  true  story  of  my  nephew  Willy,  who  is 
just  old  enough  to  read  "  The  Nursery: 
ness  of  a  man,  in  a  book,  the  other 
day,  and  said,  "  Aunt  Susan,  is  that 
a  likeness  of  Uncle  Charles,  the 
good  man  who  gives  us  '  The  Nurs- 
ery?'" 

«  Why,  no,  Willy  ! "  said  I :  "  that 
isn't  Uncle  Charles ;  that  is  Shak- 
speare."  "  But,  Aunt  Susan,  Shak- 
speare  isn't  as  great  a  man  as  Uncle  Charles,  is  he  ?  " — "Well, 
Willy,  that  is  a  hard  question  to  answer,"  said  I.  "  I  doubt 
if  Shakspeare  has  as  many  readers  among  little  boys  and 
girls.     I  can  say  that  much."  Aum  scsam. 


l:'!StlL 


BLINDMAN'S    BUFF. 


Come,  boys  and  girls,  and  have  some  fun, 

Now  that  our  daily  work  is  done. 

Of  books  to-day  we've  had  enough : 

Now  for  a  game  of  blindman's  buff! 

So  tie  a  kerchief  round  George's  eyes, 

While  each  to  some  quiet  corner  hies, 

Or  dodges  about,  as  quick  as  thought, 

That  he  may  not  be  by  the  blindman  caught 

Hurrah,  hurrah !  for  the  merry  play. 

*Turn  round  thrice,  and  catch  whom  you  may." 


A    TRICK  OF  MY  BLACK  PINK. 

Take  heed  of  the  fire !    Don't  strike  the  chair ! 

Of  the  vase  on  the  table  pray  beware ! 

See  !  Frank  with  a  cane  tickles  blindman's  nose, 

And  Ted  in  his  ear  a  trumpet  blows ; 

Little  Nell  has  shrunk  behind  in  fear, 

And  timid  Charles  loiters  far  in  the  rear; 

While  Eveline  joyously  jumps  about, 

And  Will  on  the  chair  does  nothing  but  shout. 

Hurrah,  hurrah !  for  the  merry  play. 

u  Turn  round  thrice,  and  catch  whom  you  may." 

j.  a 

A   TRICK    OF    MT    BLACK    PINK. 

My  Black  Pink  ran  all  over  the  garden ;  for  he  was  a  dog. 
N;>w,  the  garden  where  he  ran  was  on  a  small  island  in  the 
sea;  and  I  will  tell  you  what  Pink  did  one  morning. 

I  was  sitting  in  the  sun  on  the  sand ;  and  the  sea  was  all 
blue  and  gold ;  and  the  baby  waves  were  dancing  up  and 
down,  as  nothing  but  baby  waves  can  dance.  Up  above  my 
head,  right  in  the  grass,  a  tiny  kitten  was  hiding ;  and  down 
on  the  sand,  by  my  feet,  lay  Pink.  Oh,  how  black  he  was ! 
—  not  a  bit  of  white  about  him  anywhere.  He  kept  his  eyes 
on  the  grass  where  kittie  was,  a  few  minutes ;  then  up  he 
jumped,  and  ran  right  up  the  bank,  and  sprang  into  the 
grass.  All  in  a  minute  the  dog  ran  past  me  again,  and  in 
his  big  mouth  was  the  little  kitten. 

"  Pink,  Pink !  —  you  naughty  dog ! "  I  cried,  "  come  here, 
this  minute."  But  Pink  did  not  mind  me  one  bit.  He  just 
stopped  half  a  second,  or  about  that  time,  turned  his  eyes 
back  at  me,  as  if  he  would  like  to  make  them  say,  "  I  am 
only  doing  my  duty,  ma'am;"  then  he  gave  one  solemn  wag 


A  TRICK  OF  MT  BLACK  PINK 


of  his  tail,  and  plunged  off  into  the  sea  with  kittle  in  his 
mouth. 

I  ran  down  close  to  the  water,  and  called  and  begged  and 
scolded ;  and  my  Black  Pink  paid  no  more  attention  to  mfe 
than  he  did  to  the  rocks  on  the  shore. 

Around  and  around  the  dog  went.  Once  or  twice  he 
dropped  the  kitten  a  little  way  out  from  his  mouth,  just  to 
see  if  it  could  swim.  Then  back  he  came  to  the  shore,  laid 
kittie,  all  wet  and  cold,  on  the  sand,  shook  himself,  gave 


kittie  two  or  three  hints  with  his  paw  to  get  up  and  shake 
herself;  but  kittie  did  not  mind:  so  Pink  rolled  her  over  and 
over  in  the  sand,  until  there  was  such  a  big  bundle  of  sand 
that  nobody  would  think  there  was  a  kitten  inside  it. 

Then  he  took  up  the  bundle,  and  carried  it  up  the  bank 
and  laid  it  in  the  sun,  and  stood  a  long  time  looking  at  it. 

I  picked  up  the  kitten,  and  was  carrying  it  to  the  house 
to  rub  off  the  sand  and  dry  the  poor  thing ;  and,  as  I  was 
on  the  walk,  I  met  John  the  gardener,  and  told  him  what 
Pink  had  done. 


CHICK- A-DBE. 

u  Oh !  it  won't  kill  the  cat,"  he  said.  "Pink  gives  it  a  bath 
every  day  ;  and  kittie  likes  it  when  she  gets  dry" 

I  am  afraid  some  one  will  think  this  a  made-up  story,  if  I 
do  not  tell  you  that  it  is  true ;  that  I  saw  it ;  and  that  it  hap- 
pened on  a  little  island  in  Long-Island  Sound,  where  I  have 
spent  many  summers,  and  about  which  I  could  tell  you 
stories  enough  to  fill  "  The  Nursery  "  a  whole  year. 


S.  k.  h 


oXKo 


CHICK-A-DEE. 

LITTLE    MAKT'S     SONG. 

Chick-a-dee  !  chick-a-dee  !  chick-a-dee-dee ! 
The  bravest  of  all  little  birdies  is  he. 
He  comes  in  the  winter ;  and,  cold  though  it  be. 
He  cheerily  warbles  his  chick-a-dee-dee. 

"  0  Mary !  0  Mary !  sweet  Mary '. "  says  he, 
"  I'm  a  bright  little  bird,  with  a  heart  full  of  glee  : 
Come  here  and  live  with  me  on  my  willow-tree, 
And  I'll  sing  to  you,  darling !     I'll  sing  chick-a-dee '. ; 

"  0  birdie  !  dear  birdie !  0  good  chick-a-dee ! 
1  cannot  live  with  you  in  your  willow-tree  : 
My  own  mamma  loves  me  as  well  as  can  be ; 
And  what  would  my  dear  papa  do  without  me  ? 

"  Pretty  chick-a-dee-dee,  so  merry  and  free, 
Come  sit,  little  birdie,  on  my  cherry-tree  : 
I'll  throw  you  some  crumbs  from  the  window,  you  see, 
While  you  merrily  warble  your  chick-a-dee-dee  !  " 

West  Newton.  Codsin  Luct. 


THE   BIRD-HUNTERS. 


"  Now  for  it !  "  said  Albert.     "  Just  stand  back,  Lucy 
Keep  still,  and  see  me  catch  those  two  little  birds." 

The  two  little  birds  did  not  seem  to  be  much  terrified  by 
Albert's  approach,  though  he  had  his  hat  all  ready  to  pu< 
over  them.  They  continued  to  play  till  he  got  quite  near 
and  then  they  flew  up  to  a  higher  part  of  the  tree. 

"  You  ought  to  get  a  little  fresh  salt  and  put  on  their 
tails,"  said  Max,  an  older  boy,  who  stood  near  with  a  stick 
in  his  hand. 

"  There  is  no  such  thing  as  fresh  salt,"  said  Lucy :  "  salt 
is  always  salt." 


GOLD  LOCKS. 

"  oo  it  is,"  said  Max ;  "  and  you,  like  the  birds,  are  too 
wise  to  be  caught." 

"  If  I  can't  catch  a  bird,  I  can  catch  a  butterfly,"  said 
Albert.     But  he  tried  to  catch  one,  and  failed. 

Then  Max  said,  "  Look  here,  little  ones,  my  mother  says 
it  is  wrong  to  torment  birds  and  butterflies.  We  ought  to 
be  kind  to  every  thing  that  lives.  Come  with  me,  and  I 
will  show  you  where  we  can  pick  a  plenty  of  ripe  black- 
berries." 

So  they  went  with  Max,  and  picked  blackberries.  With 
some  large  leaves  they  made  a  little  plate,  and  put  in  it 
berries  enough  to  take  home  to  their  mother.  u,A. 


oXKo 


GOLD   LOCKS. 

Gold  Locks  wears  such  a  cunning  cap ! 

Delicate  are  its  soft  white  laces, 
Dainty  and  blue  its  silken  crown  : 

Dear  little  girl,  how  sweet  her  face  is  I 

With  her  Normandy  bonnet  on, 

Easy  it  might  be  to  mistake  her 
For  a  small-folks'  queen  from  fairy-land, 

Or  a  quiet,  rose-cheeked  little  Quaker. 

Yet  she's  neither  a  Quaker  nor  a  queen, 
For  all  she  wears  such  a  funny  bonnet ; 

But  her  head  is  the  brightest  ever  seen, 
With  grandpa's  loving  hand  upon  it. 

Clara  Dotf  Bates. 


Clarence  at  the  Menagerie 


On  the  first  day  of  May,  a  big  menagerie  came  to  our 
town;  and  Clarence  went  with  his  papa  to  see  the  animals. 
He  enjoyed  looking  at  them  all;  but  most  of  all  he  liked 
the  monkeys  and  the  elephants. 

He  fed  monkeys  with  candy,  and  laughed  to  see  them 
hang  by  their  tails  while  they  took  it  from  his  hand.  They 
ate  all  the  candy  he  would  give  them,  and  did  it  in  a  very 
funny  way. 

Clarence's  papa  said  the  candy  had  better  be  eaten  by 
monkeys  than  by  boys;  but  I  doubt  whether  Clarence  was 
of  that  opinion. 


CLARENCE  AT  THE  MENAGERIE. 

Clarence  was  afraid  of  the  great  elephant  when  his  papt* 
first  took  him  near  it,  and  hung  back  when  they  came  within 
reach  of  its  trunk. 

"  Why  are  you  afraid  of  the  elephant,  Clarence  ?  "  asked 
his  papa.     "  I'm  afraid  he  will  trunk  me,"  said  Clarence. 

But  he  soon  got  over  his  fear,  and  was  so  busy  feeding 
the  elephant,  that  his  papa  had  to  coax  him  away. 

On  their  way  home,  Clarence's  papa  told  the  little  boy 
some  stories  about  elephants.     Here  is  one  of  them :  — 

A  famous  elephant,  called  Jack,  was  once  travelling  with  his  keeper 
from  Margate  to  Canterbury  in  England,  when  they  came  to  a  toll-bar. 
Jack's  keeper  offered  the  right  toll,  but  the  toll-bar  man  would  not  take 
it.  He  wanted  to  make  them  pay  more  than  was  right.  So  he  kept  the 
gate  shut.  On  this  the  keeper  went  through  the  little  foot-gate  to  the 
other  side  of  the  bar,  calling  out,  "  Come  on,  Jack  •  "  and  at  once  the  ele- 
phant applied  his  trunk  to  the  rails  of  the  gate,  lifted  it  from  its  hinges, 
and  dashed  it  to  the  ground.  He  then  went  on  his  way,  while  the  toll-bar 
man  stood  petrified  to  see  what  a  mistake  he  had  made  in  demanding  an 
unjust  toll  from  an  elephant 

"  Now.  Clarence,"  said  his  papa,  "  I  suppose  you  would 
say  that  the  elephant  '  trunked  '  the  toll-gate,  and  so  he  did  ; 
but,  you  see,  it  was  because  he  did  not  choose  to  be  imposed 

Upon.  Clakf.nce'b  Vasx 


THE   CHILDREN  AT  GRANDMOTHER'S. 


HERE  was  once  a  grandmother  who  had  four« 
teen  little  grandchildren.  Some  of  them  were 
cousins  to  one  another ;  and  some  were  brothers 
and  sisters.  This  grandmother  lived  in  an  old, 
old  cottage  not  far  from  the  sea-beach.  The 
cottage  had  a  long  sloping  roof;  and  there  was  an  elm- tree 
in  front  of  it. 

One  fair  day  in  June,  the  boys  went  down  to  the  sea-beach 
to  bathe,  and  the  girls  went  out  on  the  lawn  to  play.  Some 
of  them  thought  they  would  play  "  hunt  the  slipper." 

But  little  Emma  Darton,  who  was  a  cousin  to  the  rest, 
said,  "  I  promised  my  mother  I  would  not  sit  down  on  the 
grass :  so,  if  you  play  '  hunt  the  slipper,'  I  must  not  play 
with  you ;  for  in  that  game  you  have  to  sit." 

Then  her  Cousin  Julia  replied,  "  Nonsense,  Emma !  It 
is  a  bright  warm  day.  Don't  you  see  the  grass  is  quite  dry  ? 
Come,  you  must  not  act  and  talk  like  an  old  woman  of  sixty. 
Come  and  join  in  our  game." 

But  Emma  said,  "  When  I  make  a  promise,  I  always  try 
to  keep  it.  If  to  do  that  is  to  be  like  an  old  woman  of 
sixty,  then  I  am  glad  I  am  like  one." 

"  You  are  the  oldest-talking  little  witch  I  ever  knew  for 
a  five-year-old,"  cried  Julia.  "  If  you  don't  look  out,  you'U 
not  live  half  your  days." 

"  I  think  Emma  is  right,"  said  Marian,  another  cousin. 
"  So,  if  you  insist  on  sitting  on  the  grass,  Emma  and  I  will 
go  and  sit  by  ourselves  on  the  trunk  of  the  old  fallen  tree." 

But  Julia  insisted  on  having  her  game  of  "  hunt  the 
slipper ;  "  and  Emma  and  Marian  went  and  sat  down  on  the 
fallen  trunk,  and  looked  on  while  the  rest  played. 


THE  FLYING   WOOD-SAWYER. 

The  next  day  five  of  grandmother's  little  visitors  did  not 
seem  to  be  well.  Some  were  coughing,  and  some  were 
sneezing,  and  some  were  complaining  of  pains  in  their 
limbs. 

"  Why,  what  is  the  matter  with  you,  children  ?  "  said  the 
old  lady.  "  If  I  did  not  know  you  were  sensible  little  girls, 
I  should  say  you  had  been  sitting  on  the  clamp  grass,  —  all 
of  you  but  Emma  and  Marian.'" 

The  cousins  looked  at  ■  one  another ;  but  no  one  spoke 
aloud.  Then  Marian  whispered  to  Emma,,  "  A.re  you  not 
glad  you  kept  your  promise  to  your  mother  ?  " 

Emma  looked  up  and  smiled,  but  did  not  say  a  word. 

Dora  Bbrnside. 

THE   FLYING   WOOD-SAWYER. 

One  day  last  winter  I  was  cutting  maple-logs  in  the  woods 
with  a  cross-cut  saw.  It  was  about  five  feet  long,  and  had  a 
handle  at  each  end,  so  as  to  be  used  by  two  persons  together. 
My  brother  generally  helped  me ;  but,  for  some  reason,  he 
was  not  with  me  then,  and  I  was  at  work  all  by  myself  in  a 
rather  lonesome  place. 

I  had  finished  eating  my  dinner,  set  my  pail  under  a 
clump  of  trees,  and  commenced  my  afternoon  job ;  but,  as 
the  log  was  large  and  hard,  I  often  had  to  stop  and  rest  a 
minute.  While  I  was  standing  still,  with  my  hands  upon  one 
handle  of  the  saw,  all  at  once  a  bird  came  flying  down 
towards  me  ;  and,  after  resting  upon  the  ground  behind  the 
log  a  few  moments,  what  do  you  suppose  he  did  ? 

Whether  he  knew  I  was  tired,  and  thought  it  was  too  hard 
for  me  to  cut  the  wood  all  alone,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  suddenly 
he  gave  a  little  spring,  and  seated  himself  right  on  the  other 


THE  FLYING    WOOD-SAWYER. 


handle  of  my  saw,  as  you  see  in  the  picture,  grasping  it 
with  all  the  hands  he  had,  and  looking  as  though  he  had 
come  on  purpose  to  help  me  saw  that  log  through. 

For  my  part,  I  rather  think  he  did  help  me  ;  for,  while  he 
kept  his  hold  upon  the  other  end  of  the  saw,  I  rested  faster 
than  I  ever  did  before.  I  stood  as  motionless  as  a  statue ; 
for  I  feared  that  any  movement  would  scare  the  bird  away. 

How  soon  I  should  have  got  through  my  sawing  with  his 
help,  I  cannot  tell.  But  suddenly  he  seemed  to  think  of 
something  more  important ;  and  away  he  went,  like  a  streak 
of  sunshine,  off  into  the  woods  beyond  me. 

I  have  never  .seen  my  sawyer-bird  since  then.  I  call  him 
my  "  sawyer-bird  "  because  I  don't  know  how  else  to  name 
him.  He  was  a  strange  bird  to  me :  but  he  seemed  like  a 
good  friend ;  and  I  shall  always  remember  him  as  he  looked 
when  trying  to  help  me  work  that  winter's  day. 


Uncle  William. 


r  '"^rnmrn 


THE   OLD   BLIND   MAN  AND   HIS    GRAND- 
DAUGHTER. 

Silver-white  his  locks  are  straying 

As  upon  the  bench  he  sits, 
While  his  little  grandchild,  playing, 

Round  about  him  sings  and  flits. 


Calmly  there,  and  unrepining, 
Waits  he  —  he  is  old  and  blind ; 

But  the  sun  is  brightly  shining. 
And  the  soft  spring  airs  are  kind. 


PAPA'S  STORY. 

"  Ah  !   if  he  could  once,  once  only, 

See  the  splendor  of  the  vale ! 
He,  so  old  and  weak  and  lonely, 

See  the  trees  wave  in  the  gale ! " 

Then  his  little  daughter,  pressing 

Up  against  the  old  man's  knee, 
With  her  childish,  soft  caressing, 

Filled  his  heart  with  boyish  glee. 

Through  her  eyes  once  more  beholding 

All  the  glories  of  the  spring, 
Now  his  youth  once  more  unfolding, 

Hope  and  joy  and  beauty  bring. 

From  the  Gbk»'%&. 

PAPA'S  STORY. 

"  Now,  papa,  for  another  army  story,"  said  little  Eddie 
as  he  climbed  into  papa's  lap,  and  prepared  himself  to  listen. 

Papa  closed  his  eyes,  stroked  his  whiskers ;  and  Eddie 
knew  the  story  was  coming.     This  is  it,  — 

One  day,  when  we  were  camping  in  Virginia,  some  of  us  got  leave  to  go 
■nto  the  woods  for  chestnuts,  which  grew  there  in  great  ahundance.  We 
;vere  busy  picking  up  the  nuts,  when  we  heard  a  scrambling  in  the  buab.es. 
SVe  thought  it  was  a  dog. 

"  Was  it  a  dog  ?  "  asks  Eddie. 

"  No,  it  was  not  a  dog." 

"  Was  it  a  cat  ?  " 

"  No,  it  was  not  a  cat." 

*'  0  papa !  was  it  a  bear  ?  " 


PAPA'S  STORY. 


*No,  it  was  not  a  bear." 

Si  Do  tell  rne  what  it  was  !  " 

"  Well,  let  me  go  on  with  my  story,  and  you  shall  hear. 

It  was  a  fox.  How  lie  did  run  when  he  saw  us  !  We  ran  after  him 
and  chased  him  into  a  pile  of  rails,  in  one  corner  of  the  camp. 

You  see,  the  soldiers  had  torn  down  all  the  fences,  and  piled  them  up  for 
fire-wood.  The  fox  ran  right  in  among  the  rails ;  and,  the  more  he  tried  tc 
get  out,  the  more  he  couldn't. 

"A  fox,  a  fox  ! "  we  shouted;  hearing  which,  all  the  men,  like  so  man; 
boys,  rushed  up,  and  made  themselves  into  a  circle  around  the  wood-pile, 
Bo  that  poor  foxy  was  completely  hemmed  in. 


PAFA'S  STOBT. 

Then  a  K.<v  of  us  went  to  work,  and  removed  the  rails  one  by  one,  until 
at  la3t  he  was  clear,  and  we  could  all  see  him.  With  a  bound,  he  tried 
to  get  away  ;  but  the  men  kept  their  legs  very  ;lose  together,  and  he  was  a 
prisoner.     We  got  one  of  the  tent-ropes  aud  tried  to  tie  him. 

Such  a  time  as  we  had!  One  man  got  bitten;  but  after  a  while  foxy 
was  caught.  Then  what  did  the  cunning  little  thing  do  but  make  believe 
he  was  dead !     Foxes  are  very  cunning :  they  can  play  dead  at  any  time. 

He  lay  on  the  ground  quite  still,  while  he  was  tied,  and  the  rope  was 
made  fast  to  a  tree.  When  we  all  stepped  back,  be  tried  again  to  get  away. 
The  rope  held  him  fast;  but  he  bit  so  nearly  through  it,  that  we  feared  we 
should  lose  him,  after  all. 

So  off  rushed  one  of  the  boys,  and  borrowed  a  chain  from  one  of  the 
wagons  at  headquarters.     With  this  Master  Fox  was  made  quite  secure. 

We  tried  to  tame  him  ;  for,  being  away  from  all  little  children,  we  were 
glad  of  any  thing  to  pet.  But  it  was  of  no  use ;  for,  even  when  foxes  are 
taken  very  young,  they  cannot  be  tamed.  They  do  not  attach  themselves 
to  men,  as  dogs  and  some  other  animals  do.  He  would  not  play  with  us  at 
all;  but  we  enjoyed  watching  him,  as  we  had  not  many  amusements. 

One  day  we  had  to  go  off  on  a  march,  and  left  our  little  fox  tied  to  a 
tree.  When  we  came  back,  he  was  gone.  We  never  knew  how  he  got 
away ;  but  we  were  not  very  sorry,  for  he  was  not  happy  with  us.  It  was 
much  better  for  him  to  be  in  the  woods  with  his  own  friends.  If  he  was 
smart  enough  to  stay  there,  he  may  be  living  now;  but  he  must  be  a  pretty 
old  fox  by  this  time. 

Here  papa  stopped  ;  and  his  little  boy  drew  a  long  breath, 
as  thongh  very  glad  that  the  little  fox  got  into  the  woods 
again.  Mary  mybtle. 


THE  POWER  OE  GOODNESS. 

A    TRUE   STORY. 

Once  there  was  a  good  man  whose  name  was  John  Kant, 
Fie  lived  at  Cracow,  in  Poland,  where  he  taught  and  preached. 
It  was  his  rule  always  to  suffer  wrong  rather  than  to  do 
wrong  to  others. 

When  he  got  to  be  quite  old,  he  was  seized  with  a  wish 
to  see  once  more  the  home  of  his  childhood,  which  was  many 
miles  distant  from  where  he  now  lived. 

So  he  got  ready ;  and,  having  prayed  to  God,  set  out  on 
his  way.  Dressed  in  a  black  robe,  with  long  gray  hair  and 
beard,  he  rode  slowly  along. 

The  woods  through  which  he  had  to  pass  were  thick  and 
dark  \  but  there  was  light  in  his  soul,  for  good  thoughts  of 
God  and  God's  works  kept  him  company,  and  made  the  time 
seem  short. 

One  night,  as  he  was  thus  riding  along,  he  was  all  at  once 
surrounded  by  men, — some  on  horseback,  and  some  on  foot. 
Knives  and  swords  flashed  in  the  light  of  the  moon ;  and 
John  Kant  saw  that  he  was  at  the  mercy  of  a  band  of 
robbers. 

He  got  down  from  his  horse,  and  said  to  the  gang,  that 
he  would  give  up  to  them  all  he  had  about  him.  He  then 
gave  them  a  purse  filled  with  .silver  coins,  a  gold  chain  from 
his  neck,  a  ring  from  his  finger,  and  from  his  pocket  a  book 
of  prayer,  with  silver  clasps. 

"  Have  you  given  us  all  ?  "  cried  the  robber  chief,  in  a 
stern  voice  :  "  have  you  no  more  money  ?  " 


THE  POWER  OF  GOODNESS. 

The  old  man,  in  his  confusion,  said  he  had  given  them  all 
the  money  he  had  ;  and,  when  he  said  this,  they  let  him  go. 

Glad  to  get  off  so  well,  he  went  quickly  on,  and  was  soon 
out  of  sight.  But  all  at  once  the  thought  came  to  him  that 
he  had  some  gold  pieces  stitched  into  the  hem  of  his  robe. 
These  he  had  quite  forgotten  when  the  robbers  had  asked 
him  if  he  had  any  more  money. 

"  This  is  lucky,"  thought  John  Kant ;  for  he  saw  that  the 
money  would  bear  him  home  to  his  friends,  and  that  he 
would  not  have  to  beg  his  way,  or  suffer  for  want  of  food 
and  shelter. 

But  John's  conscience  was  a  tender  one,  and  he  stopped 
to  listen  to  its  voice.  It  seemed  to  cry  to  him  in  earnest 
tones, "  Tell  not  a  lie  !  Tell  not  a  lie  ! "  .These  words  would 
not  let  him  rest. 

Some  men  would  say  that  such  a  promise,  made  to  thieves, 
need  not  be  kept ;  and  few  men  would  have  been  troubled 
after  such  an  escape.     But  John  did  not  stop  to  reason. 

He  went  back  to  the  place  where  the  robbers  stood,  and, 
walking  up  to  them,  said  meekly,  "  I  have  told  you  what  is 
not  true.  I  did  not  mean  to  do  so,  but  fear  confused  me ; 
so  pardon  me." 

With  these  words  he  held  forth  the  pieces  of  gold ;  but, 
to  his  surprise,  not  one  of  the  robbers  would  take  them.  A 
strange  feeling  was  at  work  in  their  hearts. 

These  men,  bad  as  they  were,  could  not  laugh  at  the  pious 
old  man.  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  said  a  voice  within  them. 
All  were  deeply  moved. 

Then,  as  if  touched  by  a  common  feeling,  one  of  the  rob- 
bers brought  and  gave  back  the  old  man's  purse ;  another, 
his  gold  chain;  another,  his  ring;  another,  his  book  of  prayer; 
and  still  another  led  up  his  horse,  and  helped  the  old  man 
to  remount. 


THE  HE  A  VENLT  FATHER. 

Then  <*A  the  robbers,  as  if  quite  ashamed  of  having  thought 
of  harming  so  good  a  man,  went  up  and  asked  his  blessing. 
John  Kant  gave  it  with  devout  feeling,  and  then  rode  on 
his  way,  thanking  God  for  so  strange  an  escape,  and  won- 
dering at  the  mixture  of  good  and  evil  in  the  human  heart. 


Mary  F.  Lee. 


o>8<o 


THE  HEAVENLY  FATHEK. 

Can  you  count  the  stars  that  brightly 
Twinkle  in  the  midnight  sky  ? 
Can  you  count  the  clouds,  so  lightly 
O'er  the  meadows  floating  by  ? 
God  the  Lord  doth  mark  their  number 
With  his  eyes,  that  never  slumber : 
He  hath  made  them  every  one. 

Can  you  count  the  bisects  playing 
In  the  summer  sun's  bright  beam  ? 
Can  you  count  the  fishes  straying, 
Darting  through  the  silver  stream  ? 
Unto  each,  by  God  in  heaven, 
Life  and  food  and  strength  are  given: 
He  doth  watch  them  every  one. 

Do  you  know  how  many  children 
Rise  each  morning,  blithe  and  gay  ? 
Can  you  count  the  little  voices, 
Singing  sweetly,  day  by  day  ? 
God  hears  all  the  little  voices, 
In  their  infant  songs  rejoices : 
He  doth  love  them  every  one. 


From  thb  (jermas. 


A  MORNING    RIDE. 


Maud  is  spending  her  vacation  among  the  woods  and 
mountains  of  Maine,  where  she  went  with  her  father  and 
mother  about  two  weeks  ago. 

One  very  pleasant  morning  papa  said,  "  I  think  we  had 
better  take  a  ride  this  morning."  So  Maud  was  called  in 
to  get  ready  ;  and  Hannah,  the  good  white  horse,  was  har< 
nessed  into  the  buggy. 

The  buggy  had  but  one  seat :  so  mamma  found  a  nice 
box,  and  folded  her  shawl  and  put  on  it ;  and  that  made  a 
good  place  for  the  little  girl,  between  her  father  and  mother ; 
and  they  all  started  on  their  ride. 

They  went  along  a  shady  road  near  the  river,  and  soon 
they  saw  some  geese.  Several  of  them  were  swimming  in 
the  water,  and  one  or  two  were  on  the  bank.     One  of  these 


A  MORNING  RIDE. 


had  a  sort  of  frame  around  its  neck,  and  was  standing  on 

one  leg. 

Maud  said,  "  Why,  see  that  poor  goose  !  It  has  only  one 
lea- ;  and  they  have  put  that  frame  on  so  it  can  walk  better." 
But  a  few  minutes  after  she  looked  again,  and  the  goose 
was  standing  very  comfortably  on  both  feet.  So  it  really 
had  two,  but  had  been  curling  up 
one  of  them  quite  out  of  sight. 

After  riding  some  time,  they 
came  to  a  ferry,  —  a  place  for  cross- 
ing the  Androscoggin  River ;  and 
papa  drove  through  a  pleasant 
field  clown  to  the  bank  of  the 
river.  Here  they  saw  a  man  cutting  grass,  and  asked  him 
about  the  ferry-boat.  He  came  up  and  took  a  horn  that 
hung  on  a  post,  and  blew  a  blast,  which  the  ferry-boy  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river  heard. 

When  the  boy  heard  it,  he  began  to  unfasten  his  boat, 
and  pull  it  over ;  and  Maud  and  her  father  and  mother 
waited,  sitting  in  the  buggy,  until  the  boy  brought  his  boat 
close  to  the  shore,  so  that  they  could  drive  on  to  it  easily. 

Then  papa  said,  "Are  you  all  ready?"  and  the  boy  an- 
swered, "  Yes,  sir ; "  and  Hannah  walked  on  the  boat  and 
stood  perfectly  still,  while  the  boy  kept  pulling  a  strong 
rope,  until  he  drew  the  boat,  with  the  horse  and  buggy  and 
people,  safely  over  to  the  other 
side.  Then  they  drove  up  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  came  to  a 
gate,  which  a  little  girl  opened. 

Next  they  came  to  a  very  pleas- 
ant wood, —  so  pleasant  that  papa 
stopped  Hannah  in  the  shade,  and 
said  she  might  rest  a  little ;  and 


OLD   TRIM. 

mamma  and  Maud  got  out  of  the  buggy,  and  picked  the 
young  boxberry-leaves,  and  the  red  berries,  and  pulled  long 
vines  of  evergreen,  and  gathered  moss. 

When  papa  thought  it  was  time  to  go,  he  said,  "  AD 
aboard  !  "  and  they  got  in,  and  he  drove  on.  They  had  not 
gone  far  when  Maud  asked  if  she  might  drive.  So  papa 
handed  her  the  reins ;  and  Hannah  seemed  to  go  on  just  as 
well  as  ever. 

After  Maud  had  been  driving  a  little  while,  her  father  said 
he  thought  she  had  better  give  the  reins  to  him.  This  she 
iid,  and  they  went  to  the  village,  stopped  at  the  post-office 
ind  then  drove  swiftly  home  in  season  for  dinner.  g. 


OLD   TEIM. 

Here's  orave  old  Trim :  I  once  with  him 
Was  walking  near  the  docks ; 

We  heard  a  cry,  both  Trim  and  I,  — 
The  cry  that  always  shocks. 


OLD  TRIM. 

*  Help  t  boat,  ahoy !    See,  there's  a  boy  -, 

Make  haste,  he's  going  down." 
"  There  !  watch  him,  Trim !  in  after  him ! 
We  must  not  let  him  drown." 

Through  foam  and  splash  Trim's  quick  eyes  flash 

He  strikes  out  to  the  place ; 
And  round  and  round,  with  eager  bound, 

He  watches  for  a  trace. 

A  little  hand  comes  paddling  up, 

A  face  so  wild  and  wan : 
"Ah,  Trim,  he's  there  I   Make  haste,  take  care? 

And  save  him  if  you  can  I " 

Oh !  brave  and  bold,  he  seizes  hold ; 

His  teeth  are  firmly  set : 
Now  bear  him  near;    there  is  no  fear; 

The  boy  is  breathing  yet 

*  Bravo,  good  Trim  ! "     They  welcome  him, 

And  clasp  him  round  for  joy ; 
Then  homeward  bear,  with  tender  care, 
The  pale,  half-conscious  boy. 

D  faithful  Trim !    "  Would  I  sell  him  ? " 

Inquired  a  curious  elf: 
'  What,  sell,"  I  cried,  "  a  friend  so  tried ' 

S'd  rather  sell  myself."  Ss»,  booms 


CAKES  AND    PIES. 

In  the  dough  !     In  the  dough ! 
This  is  the  way  we  make  it  go  : 
Roll  it,  roll  it,  smooth  and  thin  ; 
Pound  it  with  the  rolling-pin ; 
Cut  with  thimbles,  and  it  makes 
Just  the  nicest  dolly  cakes. 


X>olly,  now,  must  have  a  pie  : 
We  will  make  it,  you  and  I. 
Here's  a  cunning  little  tin ! 
Roll  and  roll  the  pie-crust  thin; 
Spread  it  smoothly  now  within  j 
Lay  some  bits  of  apple  in, 
Cover  nicely  ;  let  it  bake : 
That's  the  way  our  pies  we  make. 


THE   TIDE   COMING  IN. 

Dolly  may  not  eat  it  all ; 

Then,  if  playmates  chance  to  call, 

We  will  give  them  a  surprise 

With  our  little  cakes  and  pies. 

All  we  make  is  good  to  eat ; 

For  our  hands  are  clean  and  sweet ; 

And  we  have  such  handy  ways, 

Our  dear  mother  often  says, 

That  she  thinks,  by  all  the  looks, 

We  shall  soon  be  famous  cooks,     emeroy  vurvusa 


o:<«o 


THE    TIDE  COMING   IN. 

JttMA  and  Rose  were  on  a  visit  to  their  uncle,  who  lived 
near  the  seaside.  They  came  from  Ohio,  and  did  not  know 
about  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  of  the  ocean.  They  ran 
down  on  the  sandy  beach,  and  seated  themselves  on  a  rock. 

Their  cousin  Rodney  was  not  far  off,  engaged  in  fishing 
for  perch.     All  at  once  there  was  a  loud  cry  from  Julia,  the 


THE  TIDE   COMING  IN. 

elder  of  the  two  sisters.  The  water  had  crept  up  all  round 
the  rock  on  which  they  sat,  thus  forming  an  island  of  it ; 
and  they  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it. 

"  The  water  has  changed  its  place,"  shouted  Rose. 

Rodney  was  alarmed,  and  began  to  blame  himself  for 
neglecting,  in  his  eagerness  to  catch  a  few  fish,  the  little 
girls  under  his  charge. 

He  took  off  his  shoes  and  stockings,  rolled  up  his  panta- 
loons, and  ran  into  the  water  over  the  sandy  bottom  to  the 
rock.     Taking  Rose  in  his  arms,  he  told  Julia  to  follow. 

"  But  I  shall  wet  my  nice  boots,"  said  Julia. 

"  Then,  wait  on  the  rock,"  said  Rodney,  "  while  I  carry 
Rose,  and  set  her  down  on  dry  land.  I  will  then  come  for 
you,  and  carry  }rou  pickback  to  the  shore." 

"  No,  Cousin  Rodney,"  said  Julia :  "  I  think  I  will  not 
ride  pickback.  I  should  be  too  heavy  a  load.  I  must  not 
mind  wetting  my  boots  and  stockings." 

"  Then,  place  your  hand  on  my  shoulder,  and  come  along," 
said  Rodney.     "  The  tide  is  gaining  on  us  very  fast." 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean  by  the  tide,"  said  Julia. 

"  Why,  cousin,"  said  Rodney,  "  you  must  know  that  the 
tides  are  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  It 
will  be  high  tide  an  hour  from  now ;  then  the  water  will 
cover  ah  these  rocks  you  see  around  us.  After  that,  the 
water  will  sink  and  go  back  till  we  can  see  the  rocks  again, 
and  walk  a  long  way  on  the  sand ;  then  it  will  be  low 
tide.  But  we  must  not  stay  here  talking :  the  water  will 
soon  be  too  deep  for  us." 

So  Rodney  took  Rose  in  his  arms,  and  Julia  placed  her 
left  hand  on  his  right  shoulder ;  and  in  this  way  they  went 
through  the  water  to  the  dry  part  of  the  beach. 

"  We  must  look  out  for  this  sly  tide  the  next  time,"  said 
Uttle  Rose  as  she  ran  to  tell  papa  of  their  adventure. 

Uhcle  CqA 


mmmmmtw^^ 


*P  Moderate. 


-,*  -4 


Music  by  T.  CHAMPION. 
/ 


1.  "When  the  moon    is     si  lin-ing  Brightly  in  the   sky,  Lit  -  tie  birds  lie 

2.  Lit  -  tie  lambs  that  briskly  Run,  and  skip  and  play,      All   a  -  mong  the 

-ft ft T_  H ^ t-* *-&■ 


aas 


I 


^ 


■»- 


tft 


-  *-  -*-  -»i-  -*- 

snug  -  ly  In    their  nests  on     high.  Not     a     wing  they  flut  -  ter, 

mead-ows,     Thro'  the    sum-mer     day.  Rest   within     the  sheep-fold, 

1  :^=^==T==^^ 


m 


5 — 3 — 3 — % — «-Pj — ?- 
— H« — c — J — d     J 


it 


=ter*.— 
zt= t± 


^—^L 


Not       a  chirp     is  heard,  Oh !    to   sleep     so     soundly, 

•  Each   be  -  side   its  dam,—  Oh !    to     be       as    hap  -  py 


As      a       lit  -  tie 
As      a      lit  -  tie 


fer*==<c=tisqaF^g 


1 


Oh !  to  sleep    so    soundly, 
Oh !  to     be      as    hap  -  py ! 


As 
As 


mtt££^E^E 


lit  -  tie     bird, 
lit  -  tie    lamb. 


Eg^fc 


GOOD-NIGHT  AND   GOOD-MORNING. 

A  fair  little  girl  sat  under  a  tree, 
Sewing  as  long  as  her  eyes  could  see ; 
Then  smoothed  hs?  work,  and  folded  it  right, 
And  said,  "  Dear  wcik.  gcod-night !  good-night ! " 

Such  a  number  of  rooks  came  over  her  head, 
Crying  "  Caw !  caw !  "  on  their  way  to  bed, 
She  said,  as  she  watched  their  curious  flight, 
"  Little  black  things,  good-night !  good-night ! " 


The  horses  neighed,  and  the  oxen  lowed ; 
The  sheep's  "  Bleat !  bleat ! "  came  over  the  road 
All  seeming  to  say,  with  a  quiet  delight, 
*  Good  little  girl,  good-night !  good-night  I " 


LITTLE  ANNA. 

And  what  do  you  think  were  the  last  words  she  said 
As  mamma  led  her  darling  at  night  up  to  bed  ? 
"  When  I'm  a  big  lady,  and  go  to  housekeeping, 
I  sha'n't  leave  a  cobweb  for  spiders  to  sleep  in." 

Mrs.  H.  F.  Harrington. 


oXKo 


LITTLE    ANNA. 


This  is  the  cot- 
a  tage    where     little 

Anna  lived.  She 
ran  out,  and  played  all  day  in  the 
green  meadows,  and  was  as  happy 
as  a  bird. 

A  great  golden 
butterfly  was  rest- 
ing on  a  flower. 
Anna  ran  to  catch 

it ;  but  away  it  flew,  up  into  the 

bright  blue  sky. 

Then  she  sat 
down  among  the 
lilies,  and  kissed 
their  red  lips,  and  said,  "  Pretty, 
pretty,  pretty  ! "  That  was  all 
she  could  say. 


There  was  a  little 
lamb  feeding  in  the 
meadow.  Anna  went  up  to  it, 
and  patted  its  soft  white  wool 
with  her  hands. 

Then  she  ran  down 
to  the  little  brook  that 
~  flowed  through  the 
meadow,  and  there  she  saw  her 
face  in  the  clear  water. 


When  she  was 
tired,  she  lay  down 
under  a  bunch  of 
lilies,  and  went  to  sleep.  There 
is  where  her  mother  found  her, 
asleep  among  the  flowers. 

w.  o.  c 


<*»{o 


If  wishes  were  horses,  beggars  would  ride  ; 

If  wishes  were  watches,  I'd  wear  one  by  my  side. 


THE  LITTLE  BOY'S  KEBUKE. 

There  was  once  a  very  old  man  who  lived  in  the  house 
of  his  son.  The  old  man  was  deaf;  his  eyes  were  dim,  and 
his  legs  weak  and  thin.  When  he  was  at  table  he  could 
hardly  hold  his  spoon,  so  much  did  his  hand  shake ;  and  at 
times  he  would  spill  his  soup  on  the  cloth. 

All  this  vexed  his  son  and  the  son's  wife ;  and  they  made 
the  old  man  sit  in  a  corner  behind  the  stove.  There  he  ate 
his  food  from  an  earth'en-ware  dish ;  and  he  had  not  always 
too  much  to  eat,  as  you  may  guess. 

Well,  one  day  his  trem'bling  hands  could  not  hold  the  dish : 
it  fell  on  the  floor,  and  broke.  At  this  his  son  and  his  son's 
wife  were  so  vexed  that  they  spoke  harsh'ly  to  the  poor  old 
man.  His  only  an'swer  was  a  deep,  sad  sigh.  They  then 
brought  him  a  bowl  made  of  wood,  out  of  which  he  had  to 
take  his  food. 

Not  long  after  this,  his  little  grand'son,  a  boy  of  about  four 
years  of  age,  was  seen  at  work  with  a  chis'el  and  ham'mer, 
hol'low-ing  out  a  log  of  wood. 

His  parents  could  not  guess  what  he  was  trying  to  do. 
The  little  boy  said  nothing  to  any  one,  but  kept  at  work 
on  the  log,  and  looked  very  grave,  as  if  he  had  some  great 
work  in  hand. 

"  What  are  you  do'ing  there  ?  "  asked  his  father.  The  lit- 
tle boy  did  not  want  to  tell.  Then  his  mother  asked,  "What 
are  you  do'ing,  my  son  ?  " 

"  Oh !  "  said  he,  "  I  am  only  making  a  little  trough,  such  as 
our  pigs  eat  out  of." 


SPBWG  VOICES. 

"  But  what  are  you  making  it  for,  my  son  ?  " 

"  I  am  making  it,"  said  he,  "  for  you  and  father  to  eat  out 
of  when  I  am  a  man." 

The  parents  looked  at  each  other,  and  burst  into  tears. 

From  that  time  forth,  they  treated  the  old  man  well.  He 
had  the  best  place  at  the  table,  a  nice  dish,  and  plenty  of 

food.  Uncle  Charles. 


o?8<o 


SPRING  VOICES. 

a  Caw  !  caw  ! "  says  the  crow : 
"  Spring  has  come  again,  I  know ; 
For,  as  sure  as  I  am  bom, 
There's  a  fanner  planting  corn. 
I  shall  break'fast  there,  I  trow, 
Long  before  his  corn  can  grow." 

"  Quack  !  quack  ! "  says  the  duck : 
"  Was  there  ever  such  good  luck  ? 
Spring  has  cleared  this  pond  of  ice  ; 
And  the  day  is  warm  and  nice, 
Just  as  I  and  Goodman  Drake 
Thought  we'd  like  a  swim  to  take." 

"  Croak  !  croak  ! "  says  the  frog, 
As  he  leaps  out  from  the  bog  •. 
"  The  earth  is  warm  and  fair  ; 
Spring  is  here,  I  do  declare  ! 
Croak  !  croak !  I  love  the  Spring  ; 
Come,  little  birds,  and  sing." 


THE  OLD  YEAR  AND  THE  NEW. 

The  north  winds  blow 

O'er  drifts  of  snow : 
Out  in  the  cold  who  goes  from  here  ? 

«  Good-by,   Good-by!" 

Loud  voices  cry. 
*  Good-by  ! "  returns  the  brave  Old  Year; 
But,  looking  back,  what  word  leaves  he  ? 
a  Oh,  you  must  all  good  children  be  ! " 

A  knock,  a  knock ! 

'Tis  twelve  o'clock! 
This  time  of  night,  pray,  who  comes  here  ? 

Oh,  now  I  see ! 

'Tis  he!  'tis  he  ! 

All  people  know  the  glad  New  Year  s 

What  has  he  brought  ?  and  what  says  he  ? 

"  Oh,  you  must  all  good  children  be  ! " 

Maui  Dououul 

A  LITTLE  GIRL'S  PETS. 

Were  you  ever  on  a  mountain?  I  have  been ;  and  I  know 
a  young  lady  who  lived  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  all  the 
time  that  she  was  a  baby  and  a  little  girl. 

Her  name  is  Fanny ;  and,  when  she  was  a  child,  she  had 
large  dark  eyes,  and  long  curls  that  reached  below  her 
shoulders.  When  she  was  quite  a  little  girl,  she  had  a  big 
brown  dog  called  Bess. 

Fanny  and  Bess  were  always  together,  and  were  very  fond 


A  LITTLE  GIRL 'S  PET. 

of  each  other,  Sometimes  Fanny  was  naughty,  and  her 
mother  sent  her  to  her  chamber  to  stay  alone.  One  day 
she  was  sent,  and  she  sat  and  cried :  it  was  warm  weather, 
and  the  window  was  open. 

By  and  by  Bess  was  heard  running  round  and  round  the 
house ;  and  presently  she  darted  in  at  the  door,  and  bounded 
up  stairs  to  little  Fanny's  door,  who  heard  her,  and  let  her  in. 

Then  Bess  looked  up  at  Fanny  with  her  great  sober  eyes, 
as  if  to  say,  "  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  And  Fanny  sat  on  the 
floor  beside  her,  and  put  her  arms  around  her  neck,  and  told 
her  all  about  being  sent  up  stairs  for  being  naughty. 

While  she  was  speaking,  the  dog  sat  quite  still  and  listened; 
but  when  she  had  finished  her  story,  and  began  to  cry,  Bess 
threw  back  her  head,  and  whined  and  howled  till  she  could 
be  heard  all  over  the  house. 

After  that,  whenever  Fanny  was  sent  to  her  chamber,  she 
used  to  open  the  window  so  that  Bess  could  hear  her  cry ; 
and  the  brown  dog  was  sure  to  come  to  pity  her. 

Fanny  had  a  little  fox  for  a  pet :  his  name  was  Foxy  ;  and 
very  pretty  he  was,  too,  with  a  fresh  blue  ribbon  on  his  neck 
every  morning.  He  had  a  bark  that  sounded  more  like  a 
laugh ;  and,  very  early  in  the  morning,  he  would  come  out  in 
front  of  the  house,  and  laugh  in  his  queer  way,  to  let  them 
know  he  was  out. 

When  he  was  a  little  fox,  he  was  fed  on  sponge-cake  and 
milk,  and  Fanny  was  careful  not  to  let  him  taste  chicken 
bones.  But  by  and  by  he  got  a  taste  ;  and  then  people  in 
the  village  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  began  to  miss  their 
chickens. 

Foxy  used  to  be  up  as  early  as  ever;  but  at  breakfast-time 
he  would  be  missing,  and,  when  he  came  home  later  every 
morning,  he  had  no  appetite  for  breakfast.  At  last  he  was 
caught  killing  a  chicken ;  and  so  one  of  the  men  had  to 
shoot  Foxy,  L.  o. 


DOGS  AND   DOCTORS. 

There  was  once  a  good  doc'tor  who  took  a  iame 
dog  home  and  cured  him.  This  doctor  soon  had  a  vis'it 
from  the  same  dog,  who  brought  another  dog  who  had  hurt 
his  foot. 

And  so  the  good  doctor  had  to  cure  this  sec'ond  dog  also. 
You  may  see  a  pic'ture  of  the  two  dogs  at  the  doctor's  door. 
Was  it  not  odd  for  a  doctor  to  have  a  dog  for  a  patient  ? 

Not  long  ago,  one  eve'ning,  as  I  sat  writing,  the  door-bell 
rang.  I  opened  the  door,  and  a  man  asked,  "  Is  the  doctor 
at  home?" 

"No,"  said  I;  "but  he  will  be  back  soon." 

The  man  had  a  dog  with  him ;  and  this  dog  came  into  the 
en'try  and  smelt  round,  and  then  went  off  with  him. 

I  sat  down  again,  but  had  not  been  seat'ed  more  than  half 
an  hour,  when  I  heard  a  whin'ing  and  scratching  nt  the 
door. 

I  thought,  "  Well,  here  is  old  Boz."  Boz  is  a  dog  who 
lives  near  by,  and  comes  in  at  times.  So  I  opened  the  door. 
But,  in-stead  of  Boz,  the  dog  who  had  come  with  the  man  a 
Khort  time  be-fore  ran  in. 

He  jumped  up  on  me,  smelt  of  my  clothes,  and  then  ran 
all  round  the  room,  smell'mg  and  snuffing  here  and  there. 

Still  he  was  not  sat'is-fied,  but  kept  whi'ning,  and  look'ing 
up  at  me,  as  much  as  to  say, "  You  are  not  the  doctor  I 
Where  is  the  doctor  ?  " 

At  last  he  went  to  the  door  of  the  doctor's  study,  and 
ecratched  till  we  let  him  in. 

But,  on  seeing  that  the  doctor  was  not  there,  he  scratched 


to  get  out,  and  then  ran  off  to  his  mas'ter  to  tell  him,  aa 
well  as  a  dog  could,  that  the  doctor  was  not  a(  home. 


Was  he  not  a  good  dog  to  come  a  second  time  to  the 
house  to  find  the  doctor  ?  How  did  he  know  that  his  mas- 
ter wanted  the  doctor  ? 


A.  N. 


J|NN  and  her  little  sister  Mary  went  out  to  the 
pasture  one  bright  summer  day,  to  see  the  old 
horse.  The  horse  stood  in  the  shade  of  the 
great  elm-tree ;  and,  as  the  two  girls  came  up, 
he  put  his  head  over  the  fence,  as  though  he 
was  glad  to  see  them. 

"  Let  me  feed  him,"  said  Mary ;  and  she  plucked  a  bunch 
of  clover  to  give  to  the  horse. 

But,  when  she  held  it  to  his  mouth,  he  reached  out  for  it 
with  his  upper  lip,  and  gave  a  slight  snort  that  startled  the 
little  girl.     She  drew  back  timidly. 

"Don't  be  afraid,"  said  Ann.  "He  will  not  hurt  you. 
Good  old  horse  !     See  me  pat  him  on  the  head." 

Then  little  Mary  took  courage,  and  let  the  old  horse  eat 
the  clover  from  her  hand. 

Now  I  must  tell  you  something  about  this  old  horse. 
Mary's  father,  who  was  a  doctor,  bought  him  when  he  was  a 
colt,  and  named  him  Hero.  For  many  and  many  a  year  he 
carried  the  doctor  on  his  rounds,  and  served  the  whole  fam- 
ily faithfully. 

He  was  older  than  the  oldest  of  the  doctor's  children ;  and 
was  such  a  gentle,  steady,  useful  creature,  that  they  all  be- 
came much  attached  to  him. 

By  and  by,  Hero  grew  so  old  that  he  was  not  able  to  do 
his  usual  work.  One  day  a  man  said  to  the  doctor,  "  That 
horse  is  of  no  use  to  you  now.  Sell  him  to  me.  I  will  give 
you  twelve  dollars  for  him.  I  want  him  to  work  in  my 
treadmill" 

Wasn't  there  an  outcry  in  the  house  when  the  folks  heard 
this  ?     The  idea  of  selling  old  Hero  to  be  worked  in  a  tread- 


OLD  HERO. 

mill !  That  was  too  bad.  But  the  doctor's  answer  to  the 
man  settled  the  matter  very  soon. 

"  My  friend,"  said  he,  "  there  is  not  money  enough  in  your 
town  to  buy  this  horse  for  a  treadmill." 

Soon  after  this,  old  Hero  got  so  lame  that  he  was  not  fit 
to  work  at  all.  Then  somebody  said,  "  That  horse  is  good 
for  nothing.     I  would  kill  him  if  I  were  you." 

There  was  another  outburst  in  the  family  when  thp  doctor 
told  this.  "  Papa,"  said  Mary,  with  her  lip  quivering,  "  if 
you  let  old  Hero  be  killed,  you  will  be  a  cruel  man." 

"  That's  just  what  I  think,"  said  the  doctor.  "  No,  old  fel- 
low," said  he,  patting  Hero,  "  you  shall  not  be  killed.  You 
shall  have  no  more  work  to  do.  You  shall  take  your  ease. 
You  shall  have  the  best  stall  in  the  stable,  and  we  will  take 
care  of  you  as  long  as  you  live." 

So,  after  that,  Hero  was  one  of  the  family  pets.  In  the 
summer,  his  shoes  were  taken  off,  and  he  was  put  in  the 
richest  pasture  to  roam  at  will. 

He  lived  upon  the  fat  of  the  land,  and  grew  so  strong  and 
hearty,  that,  when  I  last  saw  him,  the  old,  broken-down 
horse  was  frisking  about  like  a  young  colt. 

I  wish  that  all  horses  could  have  such  a  happy  old  age. 

Uncle  Sam 


LAZY   RALPH. 


I  know  a  boy,  who,  when  he  is  sent  to  do  a  thing,  is  apt  to 
play  by  the  way ;  or  else  he  will  stop,  and  look  at  a  bird  01 
a  dog,  till  it  is  too  late  for  him  to  do  what  he  has  been  told 
to  do. 

One  day  he  was  sent  with  a  note  to  a  man  who  lived  near 
a  creek ;  but,  when  he  came  to  the  bridge,  Ralph  thought 
he  would  stop,  and  look  from  the  bridge  at  the  fish  in  the 
creek. 

He  had  some  crumbs  of  bread,  and  these  he  threw  to  the 
fish ;  and  he  thought  it  was  fine  fun  to  watch  them,  as  they 
tried  to  get  the  crumbs. 

He  staid  an  hour  or  more  on  the  bridge,  and  then  went 
on  to  give  the  note  to  the  man ;  but  the  man  had  left  the 
town  when  Ealph  got  as  far  as  his  house. 


SWANS  SWIMMING   ON  TBI!  P0N1). 

Now,  this  man  was  a  doctor ;  and  the  note  was  to  tell  him 
to  come  and  see  a  girl  who  was  quite  ill,  and  who  might  die 
if  he  could  not  come  quick. 

Ralph,  by  his  bad,  idle  ways,  might  thus  have  caused  the 
death  of  a  poor  girl;  but  I  am  glad  to  say  she  got  well. 
And,  from  that  time,  Ralph  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
change  his  ways,  and,  when  told  to  do  a  thing,  do  it  at  once. 


SEE   THJi   TWO    SWANS   SWIMMING    ON    THE    POND. 


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THE    GLEANERS. 

Come  to  the  cornfields  !  *  who  will  go  ? 
To  the  golden  cornfields  !  who  will  go  ? 

51  The  "  cornfields  "  here  referred  to  are  the  cornfields  of  Europe,  which  to  this  country 
would  be  called  fields  of  wheat  or  other  grain.  The  poppy,  which  is  here  only  seen  in  gurdena 
jrow»  there  as  a  common  weed  in  the  cornfields. 


A  PRESENT  FOR   MARIA. 

Where  the  full-eared  corn  lies  low, 
And  the  scarlet  poppies  blow,  — 
Who  will  go  ? 

Underneath  these  skies  of  blue,  — 
Bright  and  happy  skies  of  blue,— 
There  is  work  for  all  of  you,  — 
Kate  and  little  Harry  too, 

Work  for  you. 

The  busy  gleaners  they  are  here,  — 
Young  and  old,  they  all  are  here. 
Work  now  like  the  busy  bee,  — 
like  the  busy  honey-bee, — 

Help,  children  dear !  Gerda  Fa* 

A  PRESENT   FOR  MARIA. 

Do  you  see  what  Thomas,  the  gardener,  is  giving  to  Maria? 
It  is  a  pretty  little  canary-bird  in  a  cage.  Thomas  has 
bought  it  on  purpose  for  her. 

He  makes  her  a  present  because  he  likes  her.  She  has 
always  been  kind  to  him ;  and  what  pleases  him  still  more 
is,  that  she  has  been  kind  to  his  little  boy,  —  the  boy  who  is 
playing  with  the  wagon. 

Do  you  see  what  that  little  boy  holds  with  his  left  hand  ? 
He  holds  two  red  apples.  Maria  has  just  given  him  those 
apples.  He  is  greatly  pleased  with  them.  He  will  not  drop 
them  if  he  can  help  it ;  but  he  must  try  to  move  the  wagon 
with  his  other  hand. 

The  other  little  boy  in  the  picture  is  Maria's  brother  PauL 
I  am  sorry  to  say  that  he  is  not  a  very  good  boy.     He  is 


A  PRESENT  FOR  MARIA. 


not  pleased  to  see  a  present  given  to  his  sister.    He  wonders 
why  presents  are  not  given  to  him. 

I  can  tell  you  the  reason,  Master  Paul.    It  is  because  you 


think  only  of  yourself.  You  never  try  to  please  anybody 
else.  You  must  learn  to  be  obliging  and  friendly  to  others 
if  you  would  have  them  care  for  you. 


Alfred  Selwyn. 


HOW  KOSE  TOOK  CAKE  OF  THE  CHILDREN, 

A  few  years  since,  there  was  a  little  boy  named  Nelson, 
who  lived  in  London.  He  was  seven  years  old;  and  he  had 
a  sister  two  years  younger,  and  a  brother  three  years 
younger,  than  himself.  The  parents  of  these  children  were 
poor. 

One  day,  when  Nelson  was  coming  back  from  an  errand 
for  his  mother,  a  poor  little  terrier-dog  followed  him.  This 
dog  seemed  weak  and  hungry ;  his  feet  and  legs  were 
covered  with  mud,  and  one  of  them  was  lame. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  little  dog  ? "  asked  Nelson ;  and, 
hearing  these  kind  words,  the  little  dog  trotted  after  the 
boy  more  boldly,  as  if  he  had  found  a  good  friend. 

On  looking  closer,  Nelson  saw  that  there  were  lumps  on 
the  dog's  side,  as  if  he  had  been  beaten  with  a  stick  When 
the  boy  reached  his  home,  the  dog  waited  outside  on  the 
doorstep. 


HOW  ROSE   TOOK  CARE   OF  THE   CHILDREN. 

The  children  came  out  to  see  him ;  and  the  dog  had  such 
a  look  of  sorrow  in  his  large  dark  eyes,  that  it  made  them 
cry  with  pity. 

u  Do  let  us  keep  him,  mother,  and  take  care  of  him,"  said 
they ;  "  for  he  has  been  badly  used." 

The  mother  wished  her  children  to  be  merciful  and  kind 
?o  she  let  the  poor  dog  lie  in  the  wash-house  for  the  night, 
and  gave  it  some  food.     The  children  called  the  dog  Rose 
for  that  was  the  prettiest  name  they  could  think  of. 

In  a  few  days,  Rose  grew  to  be   quite  strong  and  well 
and  he  showed  his  gratitude   for  kindness  in  a  wonderful 
manner. 

He  guarded  the  house,  took  care  of  the  hens  and  chickens, 
and,  what  was  best  of  all,  went  daily  with  the  children  to 
school,  and  fetched  them  home. 

Now,  there  was  a  bad  place  to  cross  in  the  road  to  the 
school,  and  the  eldest  boy  found  it  hard  to  take  care  of  his 
little  brother  and  sister  in  getting  across  this  place. 

Rose  seemed  to  know  what  ought  to  be  done.  He  would 
walk  before  the  children  to  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  and 
then,  if  he  saw  a  carriage  coming,  he  would  bark  at  the 
children,  and  run  round  them,  as  if  they  were  a  flock  of 
sheep  he  was  taking  cars  of. 

He  would  not  let  one  of  the  children  cross  until  he  saw 
it  was  safe,  and  the  road  was  clear,  so  that  they  would  not 
be  run  over ;  and  then  he  would  lead  them  across,  and  so 
frolic  along  until  he  came  to  the  school. 

Leaving  the  children  at  school,  Rose  would  trot  home. 
By  and  by,  the  good  mother  would  say,  "  Rose,  it  is  time  to 
fetch  the  children ; "  and  then  this  faithful  dog  would  run  to 
the  school,  and  bring  the  children  home  in  the  same  way  he 
had  led  them  before. 

As  winter  came,  he  would  carry  their  dinner-basket  for 


SHADOW  BUFF. 

<hem ;  and  sometimes  he  would  even  cany  an  umbrella  for 
them  in  his  mouth.  For  three  years  the  good  dog  kept  up 
this  care,  and  then  the  children  were  old  enough  to  take 
care  of  themselves. 

But  they  did  not  forget  their  good  dog  Rose.  This  story 
is  a  true  one,  and  I  think  you  will  see  in  the  picture  a  true 
likeness  of  this  good  little  dog.  i:scLE  Charles 


oXKo 


SHADOW     BUFF. 


In  this  game,  a  large  white  cloth  or  sheet  is  stretched  tight 
against  the  wall ;  and  the  child  who  plays  Buff  sits  before  it 
in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot  see  his  comrades.  The  chil- 
dren then  disguise  themselves  as  much  as  possible,  and  throw 
their  shadows  on  the  sheet.  If  Buff  recognizes  one,  he  call* 
out  the  name,  and  they  change  places. 

K3 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER. 

1  called  at  a  house  the  other  day ;  and,  as  I  sat  in  the 
parlor,  I  heard  voices  from  a  room  near  by. 

«  Wait  till  I  have  done  with  the  book,  will  you  ?  I  hate 
to  have  girls  look'ing  over  my  shoul'der,"  was  said  in  a  boy's 

voice. 

"  How  rude ! "  said  another  voice,  which  came  from  a  little 
o-irl.  "  I  wouldn't  be  as  selfish  as  you  are  for  all  the  world." 
'  "  And  I  wouldn't  be  a  fussy  old  maid  like  you  for  a  good 
many  worlds,"  said  the  boy. 

« I  am  eight  years  old,"  said  the  girl;  "  and,  if  I  am  an  old 
maid,  I  shall  keep  so  if  the  boys  grow  up  as  bad  as  you  are." 

"  Stop  that  noise,  will  you,  and  let  me  read/'  said  the  boy. 
« It  is  noth'ing  but  buzz,  buzz,  where  you  are." 

But  I  will  not  tell  you  all  the  un-kind  words  that  passed 
be-tween  this  boy  and  his  sister.    I  was  grieved  and  shocked 

to  hear  them. 

In  the  next  house  at  which  I  called,  how  sweet  was  the 
change  !  As  I  looked  in  at  the  win'dow,  I  saw  a  brother  and 
sister  sifting  in  the  same  large  chair,  and  read'ing  from  the 
same  book. 

They  had  lost  their  mother,  and  their  father  was  away 
at  sea.  How  sad  would  have  been  the  lot  of  these  chil'dren 
if  they  had  been  rude  and  cross  to  each  other ! 

But  love  made  them  kind  and  thought'ful.  The  broth'er 
had  no  rel'ish  for  a  pleas'ure  he  could  not  share  with  his 
sister;  and  the  sister  found  her  best  joy  in  help'ing  her 
brother  to  be  cheer'ful. 

So  should  it  al'ways  be  be-tween  brothers  and  sisters.  Let 
them  shun  harsh  words.  Let  them  learn  the  peace  and  the 
joy  of  a  lov'ing  heart.  anha  liviugstob. 


JACK  FROST  AUD   THM  BO! 

Jack  Fbost. 

My  name  and  my  call'ing,  I  will  not  dis-sein'ble  ; 
JACK  FBOST  is  my  name,  Tom  !     Hear  that,  Tom,  and 
tremlde ! 

Little  Bot. 

Oh !  you  are  the  Frost,  then,  whose  touch  is  so  bitter  $ 
Who  made  all  our  win'dow-panes  sparkle  and  glit'ter  1 

Jack  Fbost. 

Yes,  I  am  that  Frost ;  and  now,  Torn,  I  am  coming, 
To  nip  you,  and  pinch  you,  your  fin'ger-tips  numbing. 

Little  Bot. 

My  fin'gers  lie  snug  in  my  gay  lit'tle  mit'tena  j 
And  the  fur  of  my  cap  is  as  warm  as  a  kit'ten'a  - 

Jack  Fbost. 

£  will  breathe  on  your  ears  tfll  they  tin'gle,  —  so,  fear  me, 
.Ind  scam'pex,  Tom,  scam'pert  —  Boo-hoo!     Do  you  hem 

Little  Bot. 

I  hear  you  —  I  know  you  —  and,  if  you  can  match  me 
In  rur/ning  and  sli'ding,  come,  catch  me,  Frost !  catch  me ! 

Jack  Fbost. 

Stop  1  stop  I  —  He  is  gone,  all  my  terrors  de-fylng ; 
To  scare  boyB  like  Tom,  I  may  well  give  up  trying. 


PAPA'S  BOOTS. 

See  Edwin !  He  is  trying  on  Papa's  boots.  I  think  he 
will  find  them  too  large.  Edwin  is  in  a  hurry  to  be  a  man. 
Be  patient,  Edwin  !  Time  will  fly  fast.  Be  a  good  boy, 
and  you  will  be  a  good  man.     A  happy  New  Year  to  you  1 


SSJ*** 


IN  PEACE  PREPAEE  FOR  WAR. 


I  hope  there  is  not  to  be  a  war.  See !  Ann  is  teaching 
John  to  go  through  the  drill.  "  Forward,  march !  "  cries 
Ann.  And  John  stands  up  straight,  and  marches  like  a  brave 
soldier.     We  must  not  go  too  near  his  gun. 


THE    JUMPING-JACK. 

Ann  has  bought  a  jumping-jack  for  her  brother  John. 

She  is  showing  it  to  him.     Ann   pulls  the  string,  and  the 

jumping-jack  throws  up  its  arms,  as  much  as  to  say,  "What 

do  you  think  of  that  ?"     John's  eyes  open  wider  and  wider. 

He  thinks  it  is  a  most  won'der-ful  thing. 


THE   RECRUIT. 

i  harles.  Now,  Corporal,  here  is  your  musket.  Attend 
to  the  word  of  command. 

Corporal.    (  Wags  his  tail) 

Charles.  Shoulder,  arms!  Hold  up  your  head.  Turn 
Out  your  toes.     That's  good. 

Eenrt  (clapping  his  hands).   Well  done  !     Well  done! 


THE   FIRST   LESSON. 


Corporal,  the  dog,  takes  his  first  lesson  in  good  manners 
Charles  teaches  him  to  shake  hands,  and  shows  him  which 
is  his  right  paw,  and  which  is  his  left.  Corporal  learns  so 
quickly,  that  Henry,  who  is  looking  on,  is  quite  surprised, 


iiiUiiiirTro]  nCzii  i  \  mu 


LITTLE    MOLLY. 


There's  company  coming,  there's  company  coming, 

There's  company  coming  to  tea  ! 
So  now,  little  Molly,  lay  by  the  big  dolly, 

And  come  and  get  ready  with  me. 

I'll  put  on  your  dress  that  is  braided  with  blue, 
And  tie  on  your  shoes  that  are  shining  and  new, 
And  curl  up  your  locks  like  a  princess's  hair ; 
And  then  you  must  sit  yourself  down  in  a  chair, 
As  calm  as  a  clock  and  as  still  as  a  mouse, 
And  wait  till  the  company  come  to  the  house. 


THE  PEAR  ON  THE  GROUND. 

And  when  they  appear,  oh !  be  careful,  my  dear : 
I  can't  allow  any  loud  noise  while  they're  here. 
The  books  on  the  table  be  sure  not  to  touch ; 
And  don't  ask  me  questions :  you  mustn't  talk  much  \ 
And  yet  don't  be  shy,  and  hide  back  of  my  chair, 
And  only  look  out  with  a  pout  and  a  stare. 

Don't  finger  your  belt  like  a  vain  little  miss  ; 
And,  if  one  should  happen  to  ask  for  a  kiss, 
Don't,  shrugging  your  shoulders,  behave  like  a  dunce, 
But  put  up  your  lips,  and  go  kiss  him  at  once. 

That's  the  suitable  way  for  a  maiden  of  three 
To  entertain  visitors  !  —  chick-a-dee-dee ! 
So  now,  little  Molly,  lay  by  the  big  dolly, 

And  dress  for  our  company  tea !  Mabiak  Douolab 

THE  PEAR  ON  THE   GROUND. 

A  LITTLE  boy,  as  he  walked  home  fix  a, 
school,  saw  a  ripe  pear  lying  on  che 
ground  in  the  front  yard  of  a  large, 
fine  house.  It  was  a  nice,  yel'low 
pear.  The  little  boy  was  hungry. 
"  How  I  would  like  that  pear ! "  thought 
he.  "  I  might  reach  it  through  the  slats  of  the  fence.  No 
one  sees  me."  Hardly  had  the  thought  come  to  him  thai] 
he  called  to  mind  these  words,  Thou  God  seest  me. 

He  at  once  turned  his  head  away  from  the  pear,  and  walked 
bravely  on.  But  he  had  not  gone  far  when  a  little  girl  came 
running  after  him,  and  said,  "  My  mother  sent  me  with  this 
pear  to  give  to  you,  little  boy.  She  saw  you  through  the 
blind  as  you  looked  at  it,  and  sends  it  to  you  with  her  love." 


BY   THE    FIRE. 


Down  in  the  darkness  there  twinkles  a  light : 
Fanny  is  choosing  our  apples  to-night,  — 
Great  ruby-red  ones  and  golden  and  green, 
Ripest  and  sweetest  that  ever  were  seen. 

Grandmother  sits  in  her  snowy  white  cap, 
Smiling,  and  smiling,  her  work  on  her  lap, 
Looking  so  dreamy,  she's  thinking,  I  know, 
Of  happy  times  vanished,  oh,  long,  long  ago ! 

How  the  wind  whistles  !     What  care  we  for  that  f 
Windows  may  rattle,  and  blinds  go  rat-tat : 
While  we  are  nestled,  all  cosey  and  warm, 
Close  by  the  fire,  we  can  laugh  at  the  storm. 


